Influenza 2025: WHO Guidelines for South Africa’s season

Abstract

This is a summary of the Clinical practice guidelines for influenza that was published by the World Health Organization and is referenced in full at the end of this article. 

The updated 2024 guidelines provide recommendations on the management of both severe and non-severe influenza, including recommendations on the use of antiviral medications to prevent influenza virus infection in individuals exposed to the virus within the previous 48 hours. This update applies to patients with seasonal influenza viruses, pandemic influenza viruses, and novel influenza A viruses known to cause severe illness in infected humans.

This update also includes baseline risk estimates for hospitalisation and death, as well as proposed definitions of patients at high or extremely high risk of developing severe influenza, to enable the recommendations to be targeted appropriately. Influenza is an acute respiratory infection caused by the influenza virus.