Influenza epidemics occur every winter with high impact on disease burden, hospitalisations and excess mortality in countries in the WHO European Region. To understand the characteristics of circulating influenza viruses during seasonal epidemics, virological influenza surveillance is performed and detected viruses are further characterised at national influenza centres (NICs) that are part of the wider network of the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS). External quality assessments (EQAs) are important instruments in assessing the quality of the generated data that are reported nationally and internationally through The European Surveillance System (TESSy).

A multi-country cluster of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) involving 28 migrants has been delineated by whole genome sequencing (WGS) in migrants recently having arrived from countries in the Horn of Africa.

This second update provides information regarding the risk of EU transmission of an MDR TB clone initially detected in seven asylum seekers from the Horn of Africa who currently reside in Switzerland.