The reported national influenza trends indicate that seasonal influenza is on the decline all across Europe, highlight the Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview for week 15.
The 2011–2012 influenza season started late and has been without any clear geographic progression. During week 15/2012, low intensity was reported in 23 countries, with decreasing trends in 14 countries. Of those, 13 countries reported decreasing trends for two consecutive weeks, suggesting that their influenza seasons have peaked.
Virological surveillance for week 15/2012 shows that of 302 sentinel specimens tested, 29.1% were positive for influenza virus. This proportion has decreased for seven consecutive weeks from a peak of nearly 60% in week 8. Of the 88 positive specimens from the sentinel sources 30 (34%) were type B. As expected towards the end of the season, this proportion has been steadily rising. This suggests that now around a third of circulating influenza viruses are type B.
Since week 40/2011, a total of 1 710 severe cases in hospital, mostly influenza related, including 101 fatalities, have been reported by seven countries.
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17 January 2012:
The importance of analyses of antigenic match and monitoring influenza vaccine effectiveness Influenza;Seasonal Influenza;Influenza;