Respiratory virus surveillance in the WHO African Region Epidemiological Week 39 September 21 to 27 2026
Respiratory virus surveillance in the WHO African Region Epidemiological Week 39 September 21 to 27 2026 orlunwop@who.int Wed, 14/10/2026 - 10:08 During Epiweek 39, 18 countries in the WHO African region (WHO AFR) contributed virological data for analysis - Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mauritius, Niger, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South…
During the 39th epidemiological week in September 2026, the World Health Organization's African Region (WHO AFR) respiratory virus surveillance reported on the findings from 18 countries. A total of 1,333 specimens were collected, with 1,232 tested for influenza. The positivity rate for influenza was 16%, resulting in 197 positive specimens.
Influenza A accounted for 124 cases, with subtypes H1N1pdm09 (n = 27), H3N2 (n = 54), and unspecified A (n = 43). Influenza B was identified in 73 specimens, with Victoria lineage (n = 41) being the most prevalent. For SARS-CoV-2, 33 specimens tested positive (2.7% positivity) among 1,213 processed by 14 laboratories across the African Region.
Cumulatively, the WHO AFR influenza laboratory network has analyzed 55,690 sentinel surveillance specimens for SARS-CoV-2 from week 1 to 39, with 1,459 positive cases, resulting in a cumulative positivity rate of 2.6%.
Written by urgent.news from WHO Africa's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
