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Islamabad : The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Islamabad has detected around 45 Covid-19 cases through flu sentinel surveillance over the past three months, but says infections remain sporadic and the available figures do not show a surge in Pakistan.
“We are seeing sporadic cases. In the last three months, we have reported around 45 cases,” an NIH official told The News when asked about the current situation. The official said JN.1.30 was the main viral lineage identified, alongside others that were not specified.
The 45 detections come from a surveillance system that tests selected patients with flu-like illness. They are not a count of all Covid-19 infections in the country.
The figures shared by the NIH do not include a weekly breakdown, testing volumes or a positivity rate, so it is not yet possible to assess whether detections have increased recently.
NIH’s week-35 disease surveillance bulletin??, covering August 24 to 30, lists 34,171 suspected cases of influenza-like illness and 1,294 of severe acute respiratory infection in reporting areas. These are clinical categories, not confirmed Covid-19 cases. Covid-19 does not appear in the bulletin’s table of the most frequently reported suspected conditions.
Reports of rising Covid-19 activity in some countries have also prompted questions about Pakistan’s preparedness. However, the World Health Organization’s latest global respiratory surveillance update??, issued on September 9, says SARS-CoV-2 test positivity remained low and stable across most reporting countries in the week ending August 30. It recorded small increases in parts of Central America, southwestern Europe and one South American country.
The continued detection of cases matters particularly for older people and those with diabetes, heart or lung disease, cancer or weakened immune systems. According to WHO’s updated vaccination guidance??, protection following vaccination or infection declines with time, while vaccination continues to reduce the risk of severe illness and death.
WHO advises countries to consider regular Covid-19 vaccination for people at the highest risk, taking account of local disease patterns and vaccine availability. For Pakistan, the immediate need is a clearer picture of how many respiratory samples are being tested, where Covid-19 is being detected and whether cases are leading to hospital admissions or deaths.
