An update from Flu News Europe:
Weekly influenza overview
Week 41/2020 (5 October–11 October 2020)
• Influenza activity remained at interseasonal levels.
• None of 107 sentinel specimens tested for influenza viruses in week 41 were positive.
• Of 4 673 non-sentinel specimens tested, 11 were positive (4 A unsubtyped, 3 A(H3), 2 A(H1)pdm09 and 2 type B viruses were not ascribed to a lineage).
• There were no hospitalized laboratory-confirmed influenza cases for week 41/2020.
• The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected healthcare presentations and testing capacities of countries and areas in the Region, which negatively impacted reporting of influenza epidemiologic and virologic data during the 2019-2020 season. It is not unusual for influenza activity to be low at this time of year but, if the COVID-19 pandemic continues, influenza data we present, notably in terms of seasonal patterns, will need to be interpreted with caution.
