世卫组织-新冠肺炎流行病学更新–2024年5月17日

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COVID-19EpidemiologicalUpdate

Edition167published17May2024

Inthisedition:

Keyhighlights

•

Globaloverview

•HospitalizationsandICUadmissions

•SARS-CoV-2variantsofinterestandvariantsundermonitoring•

WHOregionaloverviews

Keyhighlights

•SARS-CoV-2PCRpercentpositivitywas7.3%from79countriesduringtheweekendingon28April2024,asdetectedinintegratedsentinelsurveillanceaspartoftheGlobalInfluenzaSurveillanceandResponseSystem(GISRS)andreportedtoFluNet.

•KP.3andKP.2,bothdescendentlineagesofJN.1andvariantsundermonitoring(VUMs)accountedfor20.0%and9.6%ofsequencesinweek17comparedto3.5%and6.4%inweek14,respectively.Globally,JN.1isthemostreportedvariantofinterest(VOI)(nowreportedby130countries),accountingfor54.3%ofsequencesinweek17andhavingdeclinedfromaprevalenceof69.0%inweek14.TheupdatedriskevaluationforJN.1waspublishedon15April2024,withanoverallevaluationoflowpublichealthriskatthegloballevelbasedonavailableevidence.WHOiscurrentlytrackingseveralSARS-CoV-2variants:fiveVOIs–XBB.1.5,XBB.1.16,EG.5BA.2.86andJN.1;andfourvariantsundermonitoring(VUMs):JN.1.7,JN.1.18,KP.2andKP.3.

•Globally,duringthe28-dayperiodfrom1to28April2024,92countriesreportedCOVID-19casesand35countriesreportedCOVID-19deaths.Notethatthisdoesnotreflecttheactualnumberofcountrieswherecasesordeathsoccur,asmanycountrieshavestoppedorchangedthefrequencyofreporting.

•Fromtheavailabledata,thenumberofreportedcasesanddeathshavedecreasedduringthe28-dayperiod,withover145000newcasesandmorethan2600newdeaths,adecreaseof48%and44%,respectively,comparedtotheprevious28days(4to31March2024).Trendsinthenumberofreportednewcasesanddeathsshouldbeinterpretedwithcautionduetodecreasedtestingandsequencing,alongsidereportingdelaysinmanycountries.Accordingtoestimatesobtainedfromwastewatersurveillance,clinicaldetectionofcasesunderestimatestherealburdenfrom2to19-fold.

•Duringthe28-dayperiodfrom1to28April2024,44and33countriesprovideddataatleastonceonCOVID-19hospitalizationsandadmissionstoanintensivecareunit(ICU),respectively.Fromtheavailabledata,over32000newhospitalizationsandmorethan400newICUadmissionswerereportedduringthe28-dayperiod.Amongstthecountriesreportingthesedataconsistentlyoverthecurrentandpastreportingperiod,there

wasanoveralldecreaseof35%and45%innewhospitalizationsandnewICUadmissions,respectively.

•The

globalWHOCOVID-19dashboard

wasupdatedandadaptedwithanewinterfaceon22December2023tosupportWHOandMemberStates’worktotransitionfromCOVID-19asanemergencytolonger-termdiseasemanagement,asoutlinedinWHO’sCOVID-19

2023-2025UpdatedStrategicPreparednessand

ResponsePlan.

Thenewdashboardwillprogressivelyincorporatemorecomponentsthroughout2024.ThelinkofthepreviousGlobalWHOCoronavirus(COVID-19)Dashboardwillstillbeactiveandredirectuserstothenewonefrom22Decemberonward.

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ForthelatestdataandotherupdatesonCOVID-19,pleasesee:

••••

••••••

WHOMonthlyOperationalUpdate

andpasteditionsoftheEpidemiologicalUpdateonCOVID-

19

WHOCOVID-19detailedsurveillancedatadashboard

WHOCOVID-19policybriefs

COVID-19surveillancereportingrequirementsupdateforMemberStates

SummaryTables

ofCOVID-19vaccineeffectiveness(VE)studiesandresults(lastupdated9May2024)

ForestPlots

displayingresultsofCOVID-19VEstudies(lastupdated8May2024)

SpecialfocusWEUoninterpretingrelativeVE

(29June2022,pages6-8)

Neutralizationplots

(lastupdated6May2024)

WHOCOVID-19VEResources

ImmunizationAnalysisandInsights

Globaloverview

Dataasof28April2024

Globally,thenumberofnewweeklycasesdecreasedby48%duringthe28-dayperiodof1to28April2024ascomparedtotheprevious28-dayperiod,withjustunder0.1millionnewcasesreported(Figure1,Table1).Thenumberofnewweeklydeathsdecreasedby44%ascomparedtotheprevious28-dayperiod,withover2600newfatalitiesreported.Asof28April2024,over775millionconfirmedcasesandover7milliondeathshavebeenreportedglobally.Accordingtoestimatesobtainedfromviralloadsinwastewatersurveillance,clinicaldetectionofcasesunderestimatedtherealburden2to19-fold

.1,2,3

Reportedcasesdonotaccuratelyrepresentinfectionratesduetothereductionintestingandreportingglobally.Duringthis28-dayperiod,only39%(92of234)ofcountriesreportedatleastonecasetoWHO.Itisimportanttonotethatthisstatisticdoesnotreflecttheactualnumberofcountrieswithcases.Additionally,datafromtheprevious28-dayperiodarecontinuouslybeingupdatedtoincorporateretrospectivechangesmadebycountriesregardingreportedCOVID-19casesanddeaths.Datapresentedinthisreportarethereforeincompleteandshouldbeinterpretedconsideringtheselimitations.SomecountriescontinuetoreporthighburdensofCOVID-19,includingincreasesinnewlyreportedcasesand,moreimportantly,increasesinhospitalizationsanddeaths–thelatterofwhichareconsideredmorereliableindicatorsgivenreductionsintesting.GlobalandnationaldataonSARS-CoV-2PCRpercentpositivityareavailableon

WHO’sintegratedinfluenzaandotherrespiratoryviruses

surveillancedashboard.

Recentdata(epidemiologicalweek17,22to28April2024)fromsentinelsitesshowthattheSARS-CoV-2PCRpercentpositivityfromreportingcountriesaveragesapproximately7.3%from79countries(Figure2).

AsmanycountriesdiscontinueCOVID-19-specificreportingandintegrateitintorespiratorydiseasesurveillance,WHOwilluseallavailablesourcestocontinuemonitoringtheCOVID-19epidemiologicalsituation,especiallydataonillnessandimpactonhealthsystems.COVID-19remainsamajorthreat,andWHOurgesMemberStatestomaintain,notdismantle,theirestablishedCOVID-19infrastructure.Itiscrucialtosustainearlywarning,surveillanceandreporting,varianttracking,earlyclinicalcareprovision,administrationofvaccinetohigh-riskgroups,improvementsinventilation,andregularcommunication.

1

Showusthedata:globalCOVID-19wastewatermonitoringeffectors,equity,andgaps

2.

CapturingtheSARS-CoV-2infectionpyramidwithinthemunicipalityofRotterdamusinglongitudinalsewagesurveillance

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.OmicronCOVID-19CaseEstimatesBasedonPreviousSARS-CoV-2WastewaterLoad,RegionalMunicipalityofPeel,Ontario,Canada

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Figure1.COVID-19casesandglobaldeathsby28-dayintervalsreportedbyWHORegion,asof28April2024(A);16October2023to28April2024(B)**

A

B

**See

Annex1:Data,table,andfigurenote

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Attheregionallevel,thenumberofnewlyreported28-daycasesdecreasedorremainedstableacrossfourofthesixWHOregions:theRegionoftheAmericas(-75%),theWesternPacificRegion(-67%),theEuropeanRegion(-25%),andtheSouth-EastAsiaRegion(-2%);whilecasenumbersincreasedintwoWHOregions:theAfricanRegion(+18%),andtheEasternMediterraneanRegion(+45%).Thenumberofnewlyreported28-daydeathsdecreasedacrossfiveregions:theEasternMediterraneanRegion(-78%),theRegionoftheAmericas(-46%),theWesternPacificRegion(-42%),theEuropeanRegion(-31%),andtheSouth-EastAsiaRegion(-28%);whiledeathnumbersincreasedintheAfricanRegion(4vs1;+75%).

Atthecountrylevel,thehighestnumbersofnew28-daycaseswerereportedfromtheRussianFederation(69311newcases;-27%),Australia(18483newcases;-18%),NewZealand(11180newcases;-86%),theUnitedKingdom(6586newcases;+6%),andChina(5713newcases;-47%).Thehighestnumbersofnew28-daydeathswerereportedfromtheUnitedStatesofAmerica(1904newdeaths;-47%),theRussianFederation(254newdeaths;-12%),Chile(100newdeaths;-11%),Australia(87newdeaths;-44%),China(51newdeaths;-44%),andNewZealand(49newdeaths;-38%).

Table1.NewlyreportedandcumulativeCOVID-19confirmedcasesanddeaths,byWHORegion,asof28April2024**

WHORegion

Newcasesin last28days(%)

Changeinnewcases inlast28days*

Cumulativecases(%)

Newdeathsinlast28days(%)

Changeinnewdeaths inlast28days*

Cumulativedeaths(%)

Countries reportingcasesinthelast28days

Countries reporting deathsinthelast28days

Europe

2272097(32%)

89398(61%)

388(14%)

-25%

-31%

279334693

(36%)

33/61(54%)

15/61(25%)

WesternPacific

420809(6%)

37923(26%)

189(7%)

-67%

-42%

208417021

(27%)

13/35(37%)

4/35(11%)

Americas

3018275(43%)

8636(6%)

2059(76%)

-75%

-46%

193371089

(25%)

13/56(23%)

7/56(12%)

South-EastAsia

808638(11%)

7511(5%)

55(2%)

-2%

-28%

61281343

(8%)

5/10(50%)

4/10(40%)

Eastern

Mediterranean

351974(5%)

1338(1%)

2(0%)

45%

-78%

23417273

(3%)

3/22(14%)

2/22(9%)

Africa

175510(2%)

825(1%)

4(0%)

75%

18%

9579431

(1%)

25/50

(50%)

3/50(6%)

Global

145631(100%)

2697(100%)

7047316(100%)

-48%

-44%

775401794

(100%)

92/234(39%)

35/234(15%)

*Percentchangeinthenumberofnewlyconfirmedcases/deathsinthepast28days,comparedto28daysprior.Datafrompreviousweeksare

updatedcontinuouslywithadjustmentsreceivedfromcountries.

**See

Annex1:Data,table,andfigurenotes

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Figure2.SARS-CoV-2specimenstested,andtestpositivityratesreportedtoFluNetfromsentinelsites;5February2020to28April2024

Epidemiologicalweeks

Source:InfluenzaandSARS-CoV-2surveillancedatafromGISRSreportedtoFluNet;

WHO

GlobalInfluenzaProgramme

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Figure3.NumberofconfirmedCOVID-19casesreportedoverthelast28daysper100000population,asof28April2024**

**

SeeAnnex1:Data,table,andfigurenotes

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Figure4.PercentagechangeinconfirmedCOVID-19casesoverthelast28daysrelativetotheprevious28days,asof28April2024**

**See

Annex1:Data,table,andfigurenotes

8

Figure5.NumberofCOVID-19deathsreportedoverthelast28daysper100000population,asof28April2024**

**See

Annex1:Data,table,andfigurenotes

9

Figure6.PercentagechangeinconfirmedCOVID-19deathsoverthelast28daysrelativetotheprevious28days,asof28April2024**

**SeeAnnex1:Data,table,andfigurenote

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HospitalizationsandICUadmissions

Atthegloballevel,duringthe28daysfrom1to28April2024,atotalof32766newhospitalizationsand447newintensivecareunit(ICU)admissionswerereportedfrom44and33countries,respectively(Figure7).Amongstthecountriesreportingthesedataconsistentlyoverthecurrentandpastreportingperiod,therewasanoveralldecreaseof35%and45%innewhospitalizationsandnewICUadmissions,respectivelycomparedtotheprevious28days(4to31March2024)(Table2and3).NotethattheabsenceofreporteddatafromsomecountriestoWHOdoesnotimplythattherearenoCOVID-19-relatedhospitalizationsinthosecountries.Thepresentedhospitalizationdataarepreliminaryandmightchangeasnewdatabecomeavailable.Furthermore,hospitalizationdataaresubjecttoreportingdelays.ThesedataalsolikelyincludebothhospitalizationswithincidentalcasesofSARS-CoV-2infectionandthoseduetoCOVID-19disease.

Newhospitalizations

Duringthe28-dayperiodfrom1to28April2024,44(19%)countriesreporteddatatoWHOonnewhospitalizationsatleastonce(Figure7).TheRegionoftheAmericashadthehighestproportionofcountriesreportingdataonnewhospitalizations(17countries;30%),followedbytheSouth-EastAsiaRegion(threecountries;30%),theEuropeanRegion(16countries;26%),theWesternPacificRegion(fourcountries;11%),andtheAfricanRegion(fourcountries;8%).NocountryintheEasternMediterraneanshareddataduringtheperiod.Thenumberofcountriesthatconsistentl

y§

reportednewhospitalizationsfortheperiodwas17%(39countries)(Table2).

Amongthe33countriesconsistentlyreportingnewhospitalizations,three(9%)countryregisteredanincreaseof20%orgreaterinhospitalizationsduringthepast28dayscomparedtotheprevious28-dayperiod:Malta(11vs5;+120%),Thailand(4299vs2305;+87%),andBruneiDarussalam(7vs4;+75%).ThehighestnumbersofnewhospitaladmissionswerereportedfromtheUnitedStatesofAmerica(24128vs41482;-42%),Thailand(4299vs2305;+87%),andNewZealand(722vs683;+6%).

§“Consistently”asusedherereferstocountriesthatsubmitteddatafornewhospitalizationsandintensivecareunitadmissionsfortheeightconsecutiveweeks(forthereportingandcomparisonperiod).

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Table2.NumberofnewhospitalizationadmissionsreportedbyWHOregions,1to28April2024compared4to31March2024

Region

Countriesreportedatleastonceinthepast28days

Countriesreportedconsistentlyinthepastandprevious28days*

Numberof countries(percentage)**

Numberofnewhospitalizations

Numberof countries(percentage)**

Numberofnewhospitalizations

Percentchangeinnewhospitalizations

Africa

4/50(8%)0#

3/50(6%)0N/A

Americas

17/56(30%)25946

15/56(27%)25334-43%

Eastern

Mediterranean

0/22(<1%)N/A⁺

0/22(<1%)N/AN/A

Europe

16/61(26%)1533

14/61(23%)1521-23%

South-East

Asia

3/10(30%)4330

3/10(30%)4330+83%

Western

Pacific

4/35(11%)957

4/35(11%)957+3%

Global

44/234(19%)32766

39/234(17%)32142-35%

*Percentchangeiscalculatedforcountriesreportingconsistentlybothinthepast28daysandtheprevious28days(comparisonperiod).**Numberofcountriesreported/totalnumberofcountriesintheregion(percentageofreporting).

+N/Arepresentsnotavailableorapplicable.

#WHOemphasizestheimportanceofmaintainingreportingandencouragescountriestoreporttheabsenceofnewadmissions(“zeroreporting”)iftherearenonewhospitalorICUadmissionsduringtheweek.

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NewICUadmissions

AcrossthesixWHOregions,inthepast28days,atotalof33(14%)countriesreporteddatatoWHOonnewICUadmissionsatleastonce(Figure8).TheEuropeanRegionhadthehighestproportionofcountriesreportingdataonnewICUadmissions(14countries;23%),followedbytheRegionoftheAmericas(ninecountries;16%),theWesternPacificRegion(fivecountries;14%),theSouth-EastAsia(onecountry;10%),andtheAfricanRegion(fourcountries;8%).TheEasternMediterraneanRegiondidnotsharedataduringtheperiod.TheproportionofcountriesthatconsistentlyreportednewICUadmissionsfortheperiodwas12%(27countries).

Amongthe27countriesconsistentlyreportingnewICUadmissions,one(4%)countryshowedanincreaseof20%orgreaterinnewICUadmissionsduringthepast28dayscomparedtotheprevious28-dayperiod:Australia(77vs64;+20%).ThehighestnumbersofnewICUadmissionswerereportedfromAustralia(77vs64;+48%),Canada(55vs60;-8%),andMalaysia(32vs30;+7%)

Table3.NumberofnewICUadmissionsreportedbyWHOregions,1to28April2024comparedto4-31March2024

Region

Countriesreportedatleastonceinthepast28days

Countriesreportedconsistentlyinthepastandprevious28days*

NumberofnewICU

admissions

Numberof countries(percentage)**

Percentchangein newICUadmissions

NumberofnewICUadmissions

Numberof

countries

(percentage)**

Africa

4/50(8%)1

3/50(6%)0#N/A

Americas

9/56(16%)275

6/56(11%)86-68%

Eastern

Mediterranean

0/22(<1%)N/A⁺

0/22(<1%)N/AN/A

Europe

14/61(23%)37

12/61(20%)33-47%

South-East

Asia

1/10(10%)3

1/10(10%)3-80%

Western

Pacific

5/35(14%)131

5/35(14%)131+14%

Global

33/235(14%)447

27/235(12%)254-45%

*Percentchangeiscalculatedforcountriesreportingconsistentlybothinthepast28daysandtheprevious28days(comparisonperiod).**Numberofcountriesreported/totalnumberofcountriesintheregion(percentageofreporting).

+N/Arepresentsdatanotavailableorapplicable.

#WHOemphasizestheimportanceofmaintainingreportingandencouragescountriestoreporttheabsenceofnewadmissions(“zeroreporting”)iftherearenonewhospitalorICUadmissionsduringtheweek.

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Figure7.28-dayglobalCOVID-19newhospitalizationsandICUadmissions,from10February2020to28April2024(A);andfrom21August2023to28April2024(B)

A

B

Note:Recentweeksaresubjecttoreportingdelaysanddatamightnotbecomplete,thusthedatashouldbeinterpretedwithcaution.CasesincludedingreybarsareonlyfromcountriesreportinghospitalizationsorICUadmissions,respectively.

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Severityindicators

TheICU-to-hospitalizationratioanddeath-to-hospitalizationratiohavebeenkeyindicatorsforunderstandingCOVID-19severitythroughoutthepandemic.TheICU-to-hospitalizationratioisusedtoassesstheproportionofpatientsrequiringICUadmissioninrelationtothetotalnumberofhospitalizations.Thedeath-to-hospitalizationratioisusedtoassesstheproportionofdeathsinrelationtohospitalizedpatients.

Theseindicatorsaresubjecttothesamelimitationsmentionedaboveandtheircalculationsarelimitedtothecountriesreportingallrelevantdataelements(hospitalizations,ICUadmissionsanddeaths)inagivenreportingperiod.Itshouldbenotedthattheremaybedifferencesinreportingamongcountries.Forinstance,insomecountries,hospitalizationdatamayincludeICUadmissions,whereasinothers,ICUadmissionsmaybereportedseparately.Furthermore,itisimportanttoconsiderthatsomedeathsmighthaveoccurredoutsideofhospitalfacilities.

Overall,theICU-to-hospitalizationratiohasbeendecreasingsincethepeakinJuly2021whentheratiowas0.25,droppingbelow0.15sincethebeginningof2022,andtolessthan0.1bytheendof2023(Figure8).Sincethebeginningof2024,therehasbeenanincreaseinthisratio,risingtoabove0.2inMarch,anddecliningto0.16inApril2024.Weshouldnotethatduetolimitedreportingthisdoesnotsuggestaglobalincreaseintheproportionofnewhospitalizationsrequiringintensivecare.ThenumberofcountriesreportingbothICUadmissionsandhospitalizationscontinuestodecline,andadownwardtrendofadmissionsisobservedinmostofthereportingcountries(Table2and3).Thecombinationofthesetwofactorsfacilitatesthefluctuationsintheglobaltrenddrivenbyonlyoneortwocountries.

Thedeath-to-hospitalizationratiohasbeenshowingageneraldeclinesinceJuly2021.SinceJanuary2023,ithasremainedunder0.15,varyingbetween0.06to0.10.Thisisanencouragingtrendindicatingalowermortalityriskamonghospitalizedindividuals.

Pleasenotethatthecausesforthesetrendscannotbedirectlyinterpretedfromthesedata,butlikelyincludeacombinationofincreasesininfection-derivedorvaccine-derivedimmunity,improvementsinearlydiagnosisandclinicalcare,reducedstrainonhealthsystems,andotherfactors.ItisnotpossibletoinferachangedintrinsicvirulenceamongstnewerSARS-CoV-2variantsfromthesedata.

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Figure8.COVID-19ICU-to-hospitalizationratioanddeath-to-hospitalizationratio,from04May2020to28April2024(A),and21August2023to28April2024(B)

A

B

Note:Recentweeksaresubjecttoreportingdelaysandshouldnotbeinterpretedasadecliningtrend.TheICUratiofigureiscreatedfromthedataofthecountriesreportedbothnewhospitalizationsandnewICUadmissions.Thedeathratiofigureiscreatedfromthedataofthecountriesthatreportedbothnewhospitalizationandnewdeaths.

Source:

WHOCOVID-19DetailedSurveillanceDashboard

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SARS-CoV-2variantsofinterestandvariantsundermonitoring

Geographicspreadandprevalence

Globally,duringthe28-dayperiodfrom1to28April2024,12024SARS-CoV-2sequencesweresharedthroughGISAID.Incomparison,inthetwoprevious28-dayperiods,therewere24317and42030sequencesshared,respectively.Thedataareperiodicallyretrospectivelyupdatedtoincludesequenceswithearliercollectiondates,sothenumberofsubmissionsinagiventimeperiodmaychange.

WHOiscurrentlytrackingseveralSARS-CoV-2variants,including:

•Fivevariantsofinterest(VOIs):XBB.1.5,XBB.1.16,EG.5,BA.2.86andJN.1

•Variantsundermonitoring(VUMs):JN.1.7,JN.1.18,KP.2andKP.3

Table4showsthenumberofcountriesreportingVOIsandVUMs,andtheirprevalencefromepidemiologicalweek14(1to7April2024)toweek17(22to28April2024).TheVOIsandVUMsexhibitingincreasingtrendsarehighlightedinyellow,thosethathaveremainedstablearehighlightedinblue,andthosewithdecreasingtrendsarehighlightedingreen.

Globally,JN.1isthemostreportedVOI(nowreportedby130countries),accountingfor54.3%ofsequencesinweek17andhavingdeclinedfromaprevalenceof69.0%inweek14(Figure10,Table4).Itsparentlineage,BA.2.86,continuestodeclineinprevalence,accountingfor0.5%inweek17comparedto0.8%inweek14(Figure10,Table4).The

updatedriskevaluationforJN.1

waspublishedon15April2024,withanoverallpublichealthriskremaininglowatthegloballevelbasedonthenewlygatheredevidenceasperthelastupdatedriskevaluationpublishedon9February2024.

TheotherVOIs,XBB.1.5,XBB.1.16andEG.5,haveeitherdecreasedorbeenstableinglobalprevalenceduringthesameperiod:XBB.1.16hadnoreportedsequencesinweek17,adecreasefrom0.1%inweek14;XBB.1.5alsohadnoreportedsequencesinweek17,adecreasefrom0.1%inweek14;EG.5similarlyhadnoreportedsequencesinweek17,adecreasefrom1.3%inweek14(Figure10,Table4).

FourJN.1descendentlineages,JN.1.,JN.1.18,KP.2andKP.3werelistedasVUMson3May2024basedontheirgeneticprofile,prevalenceandgrowthadvantagegloballyandacrosstheWHOregions.KP.2accountedfor9.6%ofsequencesinweek17comparedto6.4%inweek14,KP.3accountedfor20.0%ofsequencesinweek17comparedto3.5%inweek14,JN.1.7accountedfor8.8%ofsequencesinweek17comparedto9.2%inweek14,andJN.1.18accountedfor0.8%ofsequencesinweek17comparedto3.1%inweek14.

Sufficientsequencingdatatocalculatevariantprevalenceattheregionallevelduringweeks14to17wereavailablefromthreeWHOregions:theRegionoftheAmericas,theWesternPacificRegion,andtheEuropeanRegion(Table5).AmongtheVOIs,JN.1wasthemostreportedvariantandshowingadecreasingtrendinallthethreeregions.TheotherVOIsinallthreeregionsobserveddecreasingtrends.FortheVUMs,KP.2andKP.3showedincreasingtrendswhereasJN.1.7andJN.1.18showeddecreasingtrendsinthethreeregions.

Withdecliningratesoftestingandsequencingglobally(Figure10),itisincreasinglychallengingtoestimatetheseverityimpactofemergingSARS-CoV-2variants.TherearecurrentlynoreportedlaboratoryorepidemiologicalreportsindicatinganyassociationbetweenVOIs/VUMsandincreaseddiseaseseverity.AsshowninFigure9andFigure10,lowandunrepresentativelevelsofSARS-CoV-2genomicsurveillancecontinuetoposechallengesinadequatelyassessingthevariantlandscape.

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Table4.WeeklyprevalenceofSARS-CoV-2VOIsandVUMs,week14of2024toweek17of2024

§Numberofcountriesandsequencesaresincetheemergenceofthevariants.

*Includesdescendantlineages,exceptthoseindividuallyspecifiedelsewhereinthetable.Forexample,JN.1*doesnotincludeJN.1.7,JN.1.18,KP.2andKP.3

Table5.WeeklyprevalenceofSARS-CoV-2VOIsandVUMsbyWHOregions,week14toweek17of2024

*Includesdescendantlineages,exceptthoseindividuallyspecifiedelsewhereinthetable.Forexample,JN.1*doesnotincludeJN.1.7,JN.1.18,KP.2andKP.3

¥Duetothesmallnumbersofsequencessubmittedintheseregions,ithasnotbeenpossibletodeterminetrendsfortheVOIsandVUMsintheseregions;thisisalsorepresentedbytheshadedcellsinthetable.

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Figure9.Global28-dayprevalenceofXBB.1.5,XBB.1.16,EG.5,BA.2.86andJN.1,1to28April2024*

*ReportingperiodtoaccountfordelayinsequencesubmissiontoGISAID.

+HistoricalpresenceindicatescountriespreviouslyreportingsequencesofVOIsbuthavenotreportedwithintheperiodfrom1to28April2024

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Figure10.The(A)numberand(B)percentageofSARS-CoV-2sequences,from1to28April2024

A

B

Figure10.PanelAshowsthenumber,andPanelBthepercentage,ofallcirculatingvariantsfrom1to28April2024.Thevariantsshownhereincludedescendentlineages,exceptforthedescendentlineage(s)listedhere.TheUnassignedcategoryincludeslineagespendingforaPANGOlineagenamedesignation,RecombinantincludesallSARS-CoV-2recombinantlineagesnotlistedhere,andtheOthercategoryincludeslineagesthatareassignedbutnotlistedhere.Source:SARS-CoV-2sequencedataandmetadatafromGISAID,from1to28April2024,downloadedon13thMay2024.

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Additionalresources

•••••••••

TrackingSARS-CoV-2Variants

WHOGlobalCOVID-19DashboardVariantsSection

WHOstatementonupdatedtrackingsystemonSARS-CoV-2variantsofconcern