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This week’s topics
1. Overview of respiratory virus epidemiology in the EU/EEA
2. Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Multi-country – Monthly update
3. SARS-CoV-2 variant classification
4. Mass gathering monitoring – Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Milan – 2026
5. Chikungunya virus disease – Mayotte, France – 2026
Executive Summary
Overview of respiratory virus epidemiology in the EU/EEA
· Summary: Primary care consultations for respiratory illness have returned to baseline levels
in more than half of reporting countries, indicating that respiratory virus circulation has
declined across much of the EU/EEA in recent weeks.
· Influenza virus circulation, while still widespread, continues to decrease in most countries,
with over half now reporting baseline or low intensity levels. Hospitalisations are also
decreasing, with adults 65 years old and above accounting for most admissions. Influenza
A(H3) remains the dominant subtype, followed by A(H1)pdm09.
· Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) circulation remains high but has begun to slowly
decline. RSV hospitalisations appear to have peaked overall, but not in children under five
years old, who continue to account for most admissions.
· SARS-CoV-2 circulation remains low in all age groups, with very few hospitalisations reported.
· EuroMOMO reported all-cause mortality shows a declining trend in recent weeks across all
age groups, following a period of above-expected mortality from weeks 1–7 of 2026.
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Multi-country – Monthly update
• Since the previous update on 3 February 2026, and as of 2 March 2026, no new MERS cases
have been reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) or national health authorities.
• Since the beginning of 2026, and as of 2 March 2026, no MERS cases have been reported by
WHO or national health authorities.
• The probability of sustained human-to-human transmission among the general population in
Europe remains very low, and the impact of the disease in the general population is also
considered to be low. The current MERS-CoV situation poses a low risk to the EU/EEA.
SARS-CoV-2 variant classification
• Since the last update on 30 January 2026, and as of 27 February 2026, no changes have been
made to ECDC variant classifications for variants of concern (VOC), variants of interest (VOI),
variants under monitoring (VUM) or De-escalated variants.
• For this update, sufficient data for estimating variant proportions during the reporting weeks
were only available from two EU/EEA countries. Therefore, the statistics below only represent a
limited part of the EU/EEA.
• The VOI and VUM median proportions in the EU/EEA for weeks 6–7, 2026 were:
- BA.2.86 (VOI): 0.0% (range: 0.0–0.0%; interquartile range (IQR): 0.0–0.0%)
- NB.1.8.1 (VUM): 9.1% (range: 0.0–18.2%; IQR: 4.5–13.6%)
- XFG (VUM): 66% (range: 36.4–95.7%, IQR: 51.2–80.8%)
- BA.3.2 (VUM): 0% (range: 0.0–0%, IQR: 0.0–0%).
Mass gathering monitoring – Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Milan – 2026
• Since the previous update and as of 5 March, no major public health events related to
communicable diseases have been detected in the context of the Winter Olympic and
Paralympic Games.
• ECDC continues to monitor this event until 20 March. The Winter Paralympic Games Milano
Cortina 2026 start on 6 March 2026 and run until 15 March.
• The probability of EU/EEA residents becoming infected with communicable diseases during the
Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games 2026 is low, if general preventive measures are applied.
Chikungunya virus disease – Mayotte, France – 2026
• There is an intensification of chikungunya virus circulation in Mayotte, France, with over 270
cases reported since 1 January 2026.
• The current likelihood of chikungunya virus infection for travellers to Mayotte is moderate.
Travellers should be advised to take enhanced mosquito bite prevention measures. Vaccination
of travellers may be considered, based on national recommendations.
Continued: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/def...ek-10-2026.pdf