The Edge of Epidemiology by Devin Teichrow
The Pathogen Dispatch

Source-first newsroom desks

Tracked outbreak file

COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2

A durable desk file assembled from current reporting, official updates, and source clusters.

CDC Current Outbreak ListPubMed Infectious Disease SearchWHO Regional Office for AfricaAfricaSoutheast AsiaNorth America

Respiratory virus surveillance in the WHO African Region Epidemiological Week 19, May 4 to 10 2026

Lead source: WHO Regional Office for Africa

What happened

Respiratory virus surveillance in the WHO African Region Epidemiological Week 19, May 4 to 10 2026

Why it matters

This file matters because official outbreak tracking remains active even if publisher coverage is thin.

What changed in this run

Latest summary: PubMed Infectious Disease Search now explicitly uses investigation or monitoring language.

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Official Sources

Official source

Respiratory virus surveillance in the WHO African Region Epidemiological Week 19, May 4 to 10 2026

Cumulatively from weeks 1 to 19, the WHO AFR influenza laboratory network has tested 25,293 sentinel surveillance specimens for SARS-CoV-2, of which 785 were positive for SARS-CoV-2 (cumulative positivity rate 3.1%). SARS-CoV-2 In Epiweek 19, of the 908 specimens processed by 12 laboratories in the African Region, a total of 18 specimens tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (positivity of 2%). The following influenza viruses were identified: Influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 (n = 4), Influenza A (H3) (n = 19), Influenza A (subtyping not performed) (n = 36), Influenza B (lineage not determined) (n = 3), and Influenza B (Victoria) (n = 24).

WHO Regional Office for AfricaOfficialOfficial agencyLiveAfrica2026-05-19T22:30+00:00Source-link only
Official source

Safety of COVID-19 mRNA-1273 booster doses in Asian populations: A literature review of post-marketing observational studies.

PubMed and EMBASE were searched on June 30, 2025, for studies meeting the following predefined criteria: observational design, adverse events (AEs), mRNA-1273 boosters (dose 3+), and population data from the South-East Asia and Western-Pacific regions. Of 886 records screened, 27 studies from eight countries (Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore) met the inclusion criteria. Long-term safety monitoring is needed to guide public-health responses to evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants.

PubMed Infectious Disease SearchGeneral outletSpecialist health confidenceLiveSoutheast Asia2026-05-19T00:00Direct article

Publisher Coverage

No publisher coverage items are attached to this story yet.

Timeline

2026-05-05T07:32:093 item(s)1 source(s)
  • Baseline snapshot created with 3 clustered item(s) across 1 source(s).
  • PubMed Infectious Disease Search now foregrounds vaccination or vaccine policy in the story.
2026-05-06T06:35:493 item(s)1 source(s)
  • Story volume increased from 2 to 3 clustered item(s) in the current window.
2026-05-07T00:01:034 item(s)1 source(s)
  • Story volume increased from 3 to 4 clustered item(s) in the current window.
2026-05-07T13:02:035 item(s)2 source(s)
  • New source(s) joined this story cluster: CIDRAP.
  • Story volume increased from 4 to 5 clustered item(s) in the current window.
2026-05-12T07:11:172 item(s)2 source(s)
  • New official source(s) joined this story cluster: CDC Current Outbreak List.
  • The lead item has changed to Estimating the potential public health and economic impact of vaccination timing: A modeling study of COVID-19 vaccination in the United Kingdom. from PubMed Infectious Disease Search.
  • 2 newly observed linked item(s) were added since the last saved snapshot.
2026-05-15T03:43:454 item(s)2 source(s)
  • Story volume increased from 2 to 4 clustered item(s) in the current window.
  • 2 newly observed linked item(s) were added since the last saved snapshot.
2026-05-15T03:44:504 item(s)2 source(s)
  • Story volume increased from 2 to 4 clustered item(s) in the current window.
  • 2 newly observed linked item(s) were added since the last saved snapshot.
2026-05-17T04:33:463 item(s)2 source(s)
  • The lead item has changed to Modeling the potential public health and economic impact and cost-effectiveness of vaccination strategies using an adapted COVID-19 vaccine in Guatemala. from PubMed Infectious Disease Search.
2026-05-17T11:38:254 item(s)2 source(s)
  • The lead item has changed to Multicenter retrospective observational study on the clinical effectiveness of butyrate-producing Clostridium butyricum containing probiotics in patients with COVID-19. from PubMed Infectious Disease Search.
  • Story volume increased from 3 to 4 clustered item(s) in the current window.
  • 1 newly observed linked item(s) were added since the last saved snapshot.
2026-05-17T21:53:573 item(s)2 source(s)
  • The lead item has changed to Modeling the potential public health and economic impact and cost-effectiveness of vaccination strategies using an adapted COVID-19 vaccine in Guatemala. from PubMed Infectious Disease Search.
2026-05-18T00:57:444 item(s)2 source(s)
  • The lead item has changed to Multicenter retrospective observational study on the clinical effectiveness of butyrate-producing Clostridium butyricum containing probiotics in patients with COVID-19. from PubMed Infectious Disease Search.
  • Story volume increased from 3 to 4 clustered item(s) in the current window.
  • 1 newly observed linked item(s) were added since the last saved snapshot.
2026-05-18T04:02:503 item(s)2 source(s)
  • The lead item has changed to Modeling the potential public health and economic impact and cost-effectiveness of vaccination strategies using an adapted COVID-19 vaccine in Guatemala. from PubMed Infectious Disease Search.
2026-05-18T18:09:054 item(s)2 source(s)
  • The lead item has changed to Multicenter retrospective observational study on the clinical effectiveness of butyrate-producing Clostridium butyricum containing probiotics in patients with COVID-19. from PubMed Infectious Disease Search.
  • Story volume increased from 3 to 4 clustered item(s) in the current window.
  • 1 newly observed linked item(s) were added since the last saved snapshot.
2026-05-18T18:15:373 item(s)2 source(s)
  • The lead item has changed to Modeling the potential public health and economic impact and cost-effectiveness of vaccination strategies using an adapted COVID-19 vaccine in Guatemala. from PubMed Infectious Disease Search.
2026-05-19T00:34:244 item(s)2 source(s)
  • The lead item has changed to Multicenter retrospective observational study on the clinical effectiveness of butyrate-producing Clostridium butyricum containing probiotics in patients with COVID-19. from PubMed Infectious Disease Search.
  • Story volume increased from 3 to 4 clustered item(s) in the current window.
  • 1 newly observed linked item(s) were added since the last saved snapshot.
2026-05-19T03:44:482 item(s)2 source(s)
  • The lead item has changed to Modeling the potential public health and economic impact and cost-effectiveness of vaccination strategies using an adapted COVID-19 vaccine in Guatemala. from PubMed Infectious Disease Search.
2026-05-19T15:59:203 item(s)3 source(s)
  • PubMed Infectious Disease Search now explicitly uses investigation or monitoring language.
  • New official source(s) joined this story cluster: WHO Regional Office for Africa.
  • The lead item has changed to Respiratory virus surveillance in the WHO African Region Epidemiological Week 19, May 4 to 10 2026 from WHO Regional Office for Africa.
  • Story volume increased from 2 to 3 clustered item(s) in the current window.