Respiratory virus surveillance in the WHO African Region Epidemiological Week 6, February 3 - 9 2025
During Epiweek 6, 16 countries in the WHO African region (WHO AFR) contributed virological data for analysis - Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Nigeria, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Togo, and Zimbabwe. During week 6, 776 specimens were collected, and 695 were tested for influenza.
In Epiweek 6, 93 specimens tested positive for influenza virus (positivity of 13.4%), of which 74 specimens were Influenza A, and 19 specimens were Influenza B, out of 695 specimens processed. The following influenza viruses were identified: Influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 (n = 27), Influenza A (H3) (n = 47), and Influenza B (Victoria) (n = 19).
SARS-CoV-2
In Epiweek 6, of the 715 specimens processed by 11 laboratories in the African Region, a total of 63 specimens tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (positivity of 8.8%).
Cumulatively from weeks 1 to 6, the WHO AFR influenza laboratory network has tested 6,702 sentinel surveillance specimens for SARS-CoV-2, of which 669 were positive for SARS-CoV-2 (cumulative positivity rate 10%)