Influenza Flulike illnesses or ILI reported for the month of December 12-25, 2022 recorded at 1,355.
This was revealed in the latest Syndromic Surveillance report by the Ministry of Health this week.
The report states that most health facilities have completed backlog reporting and that ILI cases reported.
The Ministry continues to observe a decrease in the number of COVID-19 testing and Influenza test requests received by the hospital laboratory.
Also, the surveillance team encourages the clinical team to collect samples to verify the causal agent and advice the laboratory team to prioritize the overseas referral of these samples to ensure a timely response.
Furthermore, the report says severe acute respiratory infection or SARI at Epi-week 51, cases were reported from TTMH (2) and Safotu DH (2).
The surveillance team has conducted investigations for these severe acute respiratory infection cases and no links have been identified.
The reporting of SARI cases has increased or strengthened due to an increased understanding of the case definitions.
Of the cases investigated, diagnosis included severe/ unresolved pneumonia and bronchiolitis
All cases are required to be screened for COVID-19 (current or previous) infection and vaccination status.
Of the cases investigated so far, no links have been identified.