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8 Dec, 4 tweets, 4 min read
1. New global #flu data from @WHO. A short 🧵
Topline: Flu activity remains well below what was seen in pre-Covid times. Interestingly, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) continues its rebound. Lots of it in lots of places.
2. @WHO reports that 1.1% of the more than 335,000 respiratory samples tested for flu in 102 countries from Nov. 8-21 were postive for #flu. Just a little over half of those were #influenza B infections.
3. This marks the first time since early April 2020 when the global #flu positivity rate was 1% or higher. As you can see from this chart (mine), flu activity fell off a cliff in March 2020 as the #Covid pandemic took hold around the world.
4. While it's interesting the #flu positivity rate has rebounded to where it was when the pandemic took off, that's still a very low level. To put the positivity rate seen globally this fall in context, I'm charted it against 2019 (an early & very active flu season).
end of 🧵

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More from @HelenBranswell

Helen Branswell Profile picture
4 Dec
1. Short #flu thread.
@CDCgov's FluView came out today; data for the week ending Nov 27.
US Flu activity is ticking up. It's still not near most non-pandemic years, but flu is returning. 1.5% of clinical flu tests were positive, compared to .02% in 2020.
cdc.gov/flu/weekly/ind…
2. The data behind this chart give you a sense of the steady rise in flu positivity. In a pre-Covid year, you might expect to see a positivity rate of 4%, 8% or higher at this time of the #flu season, depending on whether the season was getting off to an early start or not.
3. So looking at the influenza-like illness curves, you can see that ILI rates (they include illnesses that are not #influenza) appear to be approaching the point where they cross the threshold into ILI season. But how much of that is flu?
Read 5 tweets
Helen Branswell Profile picture
3 Dec
1. @GuHaogao & colleagues report on an apparent case of #Omicron transmission in a Hong Kong quarantine hotel. Traveler from South Africa tests positive 2 days after arrival; traveler from Canada who is located directly across the hall tests positive 4 days later.
2. Canadian traveler was 7 days into quarantine when he tested positive. Viral sequences were compared; almost identical.
Both travelers were twice vaxed with Pfizer in the spring.
Surveillance footage showed neither left their room, only opening doors for food, testing.
3. "Airborne transmission across the corridor is the most probable mode of transmission," the University of Hong Kong researchers (including @bencowling88) report in @CDC_EIDjournal. wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/28…
Read 4 tweets
Helen Branswell Profile picture
24 Nov
1. Short flu 🧵.
Global flu surveillance data for Oct 25 to Nov 7 was issued today by @WHO. It shows a small uptick of flu activity globally, with 100 national labs reporting 3130 cases among +400K tests. Internationally influenza B viruses (B/Victoria) predominate.
2. That number of positive #flu tests is a positivity rate of 0.78%, which is still well below what we'd expect to see at this time of the year, when flu transmission in the Northern Hemisphere normally builds. This graph (mine) compares positivity rates in autumn 2019 & 2021.
3. #Flu isn't the only non-#Covid respiratory disease spreading. Some areas are seeing a lot of RSV activity & other influenza-like illnesses. The lowering of the guard on Covid precautions will allow these other viruses to resume transmission.
Gonna be an interesting winter.
Read 5 tweets
Helen Branswell Profile picture
24 Nov
1. "We must do better at sharing the fruits of science." @WHO Director @DrTedros at today's virtual press conference. It's important for all countries to have access to #Covid vaccines, but also rapid tests and therapies, Dr. Tedros said.
2. @DrTedros said no country or region is yet out of the woods when it comes to #Covid, pointing to the surge in cases in Europe where vaccination rates are reasonably high. He urged people to continue to take precautions against Covid, even if they are vaccinated.
3. @DrTedros points to next week's special session of the World Health Assembly — the WHO's governing body — to try to come up with a treaty or instrument designed to prevent or mitigate future pandemics. Tedros said he is heartened that there now appears to be a broad consensus.
Read 9 tweets
Helen Branswell Profile picture
19 Nov
1. #ACIP will begin meeting at noon ET on the expansion of the emergency use authorizations for Pfizer & Moderna #Covid19 boosters.
The agenda is here: cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/…
The meeting can be listened to here: video.ibm.com/channel/VWBXKB…
I will be live blogging in this thread.
2. #ACIP is beginning. Roll call was conducted in an unusual fashion so I'm not sure I've got this right, but I think 2 voting members of the committee are not present (meeting was called at the last minute). So 13 members will be voting.
3. #ACIP is getting a bit of data on #Covid vax uptake in kids aged 5-11. So far nearly 2M kids have been vaccinated.
Matt Daley, chair of ACIP's Covid vax work group, says he's been talking to kids about vaccination. They're excited "not about the poke, but about the promise."
Read 33 tweets
Helen Branswell Profile picture
11 Nov
1. Europe is seeing an upswing in cases of an infection that has been linked to a polio-like phenomenon called #AFM — acute flaccid myelitis — according to a report today in @Eurosurveillanc. Enterovirus D68 is thought to trigger AFM in some kids. eurosurveillance.org/content/10.280…
2. From 2014 on, the US & Europe experienced cases of #AFM that left dozens of children dealing with some lingering paralysis after they had cold-like symptoms. AFM cases peaked every 2 years; but in socially-distance 2020, there was no surge. statnews.com/2021/02/04/doc…
3. Authorities in the US have been watching for #AFM this fall, figuring the loosening of Covid precautions & the return to in-person schooling could result in a spike in cases. So far this year that hasn't happened. Fewer cases than in 2020, even. cdc.gov/acute-flaccid-…
Read 4 tweets

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