# 5328
While many European nations continue to report medium to high levels of influenza-like (ILI) activity, the latest surveillance shows more than a dozen countries with ILI numbers on the decline.
Surveillance in some central and south-eastern European nations is somewhat limited, so the influenza trends in those regions are less certain. Still, this latest report suggests that for much of Europe, their Influenza A season has peaked.
During the 2011-2012 flu season the 2009 H1N1 virus has continued to predominate, but a number of countries are now seeing a shift to primarily influenza B (including the UK, Norway, Belgium, Spain, and Sweden).
While concerns exist over the 28 resistant H1N1 viruses detected this season, the former pandemic virus continues to be overwhelmingly sensitive to oseltamivir (96.2%) and zanamivir (100%) (among the 738 samples tested).
The full ECDC weekly report may be accessed at the link below.
Main surveillance developments in week
6/2011 (07 Feb 2011 – 13 Feb 2011)• Most European countries continue to report medium to high influenza-like illness/acute respiratory infection consultation rates and widespread activity. Decreasing ILI/ARI trends were reported by 14 countries.
• The proportion of influenza virus-positive sentinel specimens has gradually decreased to 43% after peaking in week 52/2010 at 57%
• Sixty-seven per cent of influenza virus detections in week 6/2011 were type A, 33% were type B. More than 99% of subtyped influenza A viruses were A(H1N1)2009.
• In week 6/2011, ten countries reported 180 all-cause SARI and hospitalised confirmed influenza cases, the latter mostly due to influenza virus A(H1N1)2009 infection.
• Numbers of influenza infections with severe outcome have decreased in western European Union countries (Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain and the UK). However, there is considerable uncertainty about severe cases in a number of countries, especially those in central, eastern and south-eastern European countries, because of limited hospital surveillance.
