https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/covid-19-epidemiological-update---24-november-2023
COVID-19 Epidemiological Update - 24 November 2023
Edition 161
24 November 2023
| Emergency Situational Updates
1
COVID-19 Epidemiological Update
Edition 161 published 24 November 2023
In this edition:
• Key highlights
• Global overview
• Hospitalizations and ICU admissions
• SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest and variants under monitoring
• WHO regional overviews
COVID-19 Epidemiological Update
Edition 161 published 24 November 2023
In this edition:
• Key highlights
• Global overview
• Hospitalizations and ICU admissions
• SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest and variants under monitoring
• WHO regional overviews
Key highlights
• Globally, during the 28-day period from 23 October to 19 November 2023, 104 countries reported COVID-19 cases and 43 countries reported COVID-19 deaths. Note that this does not reflect the actual number of countries where cases or deaths are occurring, as a number of countries have stopped or changed frequency of reporting.
• From the available data, the number of reported cases and deaths during the 28-day period have declined, with over half a million new cases and over 2400 new deaths, a decrease of 13% and 72%, respectively, compared to the previous 28 days (25 September to 22 October 2023). Trends in the number of reported new cases and deaths should be interpreted with caution due to decreased testing and sequencing, alongside reporting delays in many countries.
• SARS-CoV-2 PCR percent positivity, as detected in integrated sentinel surveillance as part of the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) and reported to FluNet, has remained stable at 8.0% over the last 28-days, with a slight dip in early November.
• During the 28-day period from 16 October to 12 November 2023, 62 and 37 countries provided data on COVID-19 hospitalizations and admissions to an intensive care unit (ICU) at least once, respectively. From the available data, over 84 000 new hospitalizations and over 700 new ICU admissions were reported during the 28-day reporting period, a decrease of 18% and 57% respectively, compared to the previous 28-day period from 18 September to 15 October 2023. However, amongst the countries reporting these data consistently over the two reporting periods, there was an overall decrease of 12% in new hospitalizations, and a 26% increase in new ICU admissions.
• Globally, during the 28-day period from 23 October to 19 November 2023, 104 countries reported COVID-19 cases and 43 countries reported COVID-19 deaths. Note that this does not reflect the actual number of countries where cases or deaths are occurring, as a number of countries have stopped or changed frequency of reporting.
• From the available data, the number of reported cases and deaths during the 28-day period have declined, with over half a million new cases and over 2400 new deaths, a decrease of 13% and 72%, respectively, compared to the previous 28 days (25 September to 22 October 2023). Trends in the number of reported new cases and deaths should be interpreted with caution due to decreased testing and sequencing, alongside reporting delays in many countries.
• SARS-CoV-2 PCR percent positivity, as detected in integrated sentinel surveillance as part of the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) and reported to FluNet, has remained stable at 8.0% over the last 28-days, with a slight dip in early November.
• During the 28-day period from 16 October to 12 November 2023, 62 and 37 countries provided data on COVID-19 hospitalizations and admissions to an intensive care unit (ICU) at least once, respectively. From the available data, over 84 000 new hospitalizations and over 700 new ICU admissions were reported during the 28-day reporting period, a decrease of 18% and 57% respectively, compared to the previous 28-day period from 18 September to 15 October 2023. However, amongst the countries reporting these data consistently over the two reporting periods, there was an overall decrease of 12% in new hospitalizations, and a 26% increase in new ICU admissions.
• During this reporting period, BA.2.86 was reclassified from a variant under monitoring (VUM) to a variant of interest (VOI).
WHO is currently tracking several SARS-CoV-2 variants: four VOIs – XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, EG.5
and BA.2.86; and five VUMs. Globally, EG.5, reported by 89 countries, represents 51.6% of sequences shared on GISAID and is presently the most prevalent VOI
and BA.2.86; and five VUMs. Globally, EG.5, reported by 89 countries, represents 51.6% of sequences shared on GISAID and is presently the most prevalent VOI
Global overview..
European Region
The European Region reported over 378 000 new cases, an 18% decrease as
compared to the previous 28-day period. Nine (15%) of the 61 countries for which
data are available reported increases in new cases of 20% or greater, with the
highest proportional increases observed in San Marino (436 vs 102 new cases;
+327%), Sweden (9531 vs 2933 new cases; +225%), and Poland (21 876 vs 7103
new cases; +208%). The highest numbers of new cases were reported from the
Russian Federation (121 482 new cases; 83.2 new cases per 100 000; +90%), Italy
(104 165 new cases; 174.7 new cases per 100 000; -32%), and Poland (21 876
new cases; 57.6 new cases per 100 000; +208%).
The number of new 28-day deaths in the Region decreased by 49% as compared
to the previous 28-day period, with 1951 new deaths reported. The highest
numbers of new deaths were reported from Italy (597 new deaths; 1.0 new death
per 100 000; -10%), Sweden (372 new deaths; 3.6 new deaths per 100 000;
+151%), and the Russian Federation (250 new deaths; <1 new death per 100 000;
+105%).
SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest and variants under monitoring
Geographic spread and prevalence
Globally, during the 28-day period from 23 October to 19 November 2023, 18 719 SARS-CoV-2 sequences were shared through GISAID. In comparison, in the two previous 28-day periods, there were 67 525 and 84 942 sequences shared, respectively. The data are periodically retrospectively updated to include sequences with earlier collection dates, so the number of submissions in a given time period may change.
WHO is currently tracking several SARS-CoV-2 variants, including:
• Four variants of interest (VOIs): XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, EG.5 and BA.2.86
• Five variants under monitoring (VUMs): DV.7, XBB, XBB.1.9.1, XBB.1.9.2 and XBB.2.3
Geographic spread and prevalence
Globally, during the 28-day period from 23 October to 19 November 2023, 18 719 SARS-CoV-2 sequences were shared through GISAID. In comparison, in the two previous 28-day periods, there were 67 525 and 84 942 sequences shared, respectively. The data are periodically retrospectively updated to include sequences with earlier collection dates, so the number of submissions in a given time period may change.
WHO is currently tracking several SARS-CoV-2 variants, including:
• Four variants of interest (VOIs): XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, EG.5 and BA.2.86
• Five variants under monitoring (VUMs): DV.7, XBB, XBB.1.9.1, XBB.1.9.2 and XBB.2.3
Table 6 shows the number of countries reporting VOIs and VUMs, and their prevalence from epidemiological week 40 (2 to 8 October 2023) to week 44 (30 October to 5 November 2023). The VOIs and VUMs exhibiting increasing trends are highlighted in yellow, those that have remained stable are highlighted in blue, and those with decreasing trends are highlighted in green.
Globally, all VOIs have been detected in all WHO regions, with EG.5 continuing to be the most prevalent VOI, now reported by 89 countries. EG.5 continues to steadily rise in prevalence, accounting for 51.6% of sequences submitted to GISAID in week 44 in comparison to 47.0% in week 40 (Figure 9, Figure 10 and Table 6). This includes two descendent lineages, HK.3 and HV.1, which have been included under EG.5 since 23 October 2023. The last risk evaluation for EG.5 was published on 21 November 2023, with an overall evaluation of low additional public health risk at the global level based on available evidence. This aligns with the risk associated with the other currently
circulating VOIs.
As of 20 November 2023, BA.2.86 has been designated as a VOI due to the steady increase in its global prevalence in recent weeks. BA.2.86 accounted for 8.9% of sequences in week 44, an increase from 1.8% in week 40 (Figure 10, Table 6). The initial risk evaluation for BA.2.86 was published on 21 November 2023, with an overall evaluation of low public health risk at the global level based on available evidence.
The other VOIs, XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.16, have remained stable and decreased in global prevalence, respectively, during the same period: XBB.1.5 accounted for 8.3% of sequences in week 44, similar to its prevalence in week 40 at 8.5%;
XBB.1.6 accounted for 8.2% of sequences in week 44, a decrease from 15.9% in week 40 (Figure 10, Table 6).
Among the VUMs, DV.7 and XBB have shown stable trends in the reporting period, accounting for 1.9% and 2.3%, respectively, of sequences in week 44 (Table 6).
The other VUMs, XBB.1.9.1, XBB.1.9.2 and XBB.2.3 continue to decrease in prevalence, accounting for 6.4%, 1.9% and 3.7% of all sequences in week 44, respectively.
Sufficient sequencing data to calculate variant prevalence at the regional level during weeks 40 to 44 were available from three WHO regions: the Region of the Americas, the Western Pacific Region, and the European Region (Table 7).
Among the VOIs, EG.5 was the most prevalent variant, and BA.2.86 showed an increasing trend in all three regions.
XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.16 showed decreasing or stable trends.
Amongst the VUMs, all three regions observed decreasing or stable trends for XBB, XBB.1.9.1, XBB.1.9.2 and XBB.2.3.
DV.7 presented an increasing trend in the Region of the Americas and the Western Pacific region, whereas the European region saw a decreasing trend.
With declining rates of testing and sequencing globally (Figure 10), it is increasingly challenging to estimate the severity impact of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. There are currently no reported laboratory or epidemiological reports indicating any association between VOIs/VUMs and increased disease severity.
As shown in Figure 9 and Figure 10, low and unrepresentative levels of SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance continue to pose challenges in adequately assessing the variant landscape
Suom. huom. Tekstissä ilmoitetaan, että tilannearviot ovat haastavia tehdä, koska testaukset , ilmoittamiset ja sekvensoimiset ovat suuresti vähenemään päin. Kuitenkin tilastoidut kuolemat, tautitapaukset ja sairaalaan ottamiset ovat tietoja, jotka viittaavat tarpeeksi covid-epidemian huomioonottamisen olevan edelleen tärkeä asia. Yleisen terveyskäyttäytymisen tulisi adaptoitua tilanteeseen, esim käsien pesut ovat tärkeitä , Ehkä muitakin asioita pitäisi vielä noudattaa kuten flunssankin päivinä. Rokotuksia kannattaa ottaa jos tarjotaan. tautihuippua voi tulla säitten kylmentyessä.
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