Seasonal influenza - Annual Epidemiological Report for 2020-2021

Surveillance report

26 Aug 2021

Publication series: Annual Epidemiological Report on Communicable Diseases in Europe

Time period covered: Seasonal data in this report, covering the period from week 40/2020 to 20/2021, were extracted from the database during week 21/2021 for the reporting week 20/2021.

Cite:

For the EU/EEA, influenza activity remained at or below inter-seasonal levels throughout the 2020−21 season, probably due to the impact of the various public health and social measures implemented to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

Executive summary

Only 10 sentinel and 158 non-sentinel specimens tested positive for influenza during the 2020−21 season. Compared with previous seasons a slightly lower number of samples were tested in sentinel surveillance and a similar number in non-sentinel surveillance. However, there was a remarkable decrease in the number of influenza infections detected, with numbers detected on a weekly basis being similar to those reported during the inter-seasonal periods for both sentinel and non-sentinel surveillance systems.
There were no hospitalised cases of influenza reported by EU/EEA countries in the 2020-21 season and neither were there any fatalities from influenza reported this season.
Very few viruses were sent for characterisation this season, which has hampered the decision on vaccine composition for the coming season.