Influenza Viruses Are Hard to Find

The World Health Organization (WHO) published Influenza Update N° 445 on May 15, 2023, stating influenza detections decreased further due to a decline in detections in the northern hemisphere, while some countries in the southern hemisphere reported an increase in influenza detections in recent weeks.

Most influenza activity was very low in North America, the Caribbean, and Central American countries.

In the tropical countries of South America, influenza activity decreased overall during this reporting period, although positivity increased to an extraordinary level in the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

In Europe, overall influenza detections decreased, and influenza positivity from sentinel sites dropped below the epidemic threshold of 10% at the regional level.

Despite continued testing in Central Asia, no influenza detections were reported during this period.

In Northern Africa, no influenza detections were reported.

In Western Asia, influenza activity remained low overall.

In East Asia, influenza activity decreased overall, although detections of mainly influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 continued to increase in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.

A slight increase in influenza detections was reported in the Republic of Korea.

Other influenza and vaccine news for the upcoming 2023-2024 flu season is posted at Precision Vaccinations.