Respiratory virus surveillance in the WHO African Region Epidemiological Week 44, October 26 to November 1 2026
Respiratory virus surveillance in the WHO African Region Epidemiological Week 44, October 26 to November 1 2026 orlunwop@who.int Thu, 12/11/2026 - 00:01 During Epiweek 44, 16 countries in the WHO African region (WHO AFR) contributed virological data for analysis - Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Togo,…
During the most recent Epidemiological Week 44, spanning October 26 to November 1, 2026, 16 countries in the WHO African Region contributed respiratory virus surveillance data. A total of 855 specimens were collected, with 828 tested for influenza. Of these, 9.3% tested positive for influenza virus, comprising 35 Influenza A and 42 Influenza B cases.
Specific strains identified included Influenza A (H1N1)pdm09, Influenza A (H3), Influenza B of unknown lineage, and Influenza B Victoria. On the other hand, 770 specimens processed by 11 laboratories yielded a SARS-CoV-2 positivity rate of 3.4% during the same period. Cumulatively from weeks 1 to 44, the WHO African Region's influenza laboratory network has analyzed 62,459 sentinel surveillance specimens for SARS-CoV-2, with 1,611 testing positive, 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.
