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IDSR Epidemiological Bulletin – Week 45.

Malawi IDSR Infographic (Week 45, 2025)

Editorial Team

Dr. Matthews Kagoli • Mrs. Mtisunge Yelewa • Mr. Austin Zgambo • Mr. Sikhona Chipeta • Mr. James Jere • Mr. Noel Khunga

Weekly IDSR Bulletin

Epidemiological Week 45 (November, 2025)

Published By

Moses Nyambalo Phiri

Public Health Institute of Malawi

National Surveillance Performance

The Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) system serves as the backbone of Malawi’s public health security. In Week 45, the system maintained high reporting standards, ensuring timely data for rapid decision-making.

Reporting Completeness
94.4%
-3.3% vs Week 44
Reporting Timeliness
94.3%
+4.8% vs Week 44
Performance Analysis The North Zone set the benchmark with 98.7% reporting rates. While the national average remains strong, targeted interventions are required for Central Hospitals, which reported at 75%, slightly below the 80% national target.

Priority Disease Alerts

Beyond Malaria (20,110 cases), the system actively tracked several critical conditions. Immediate investigations were launched for all alerts to prevent community spread.

Alert Insights Bloody Diarrhoea triggered the highest volume of alerts (1,122 cases), necessitating water quality assessments. SARI (Severe Acute Respiratory Infections) showed a concerning mortality rate (6 deaths among 44 cases), highlighting the severity of current respiratory pathogens.

Outbreak Spotlight: Mpox

Containment efforts are showing success. Zero new confirmed cases were reported this week, though surveillance remains heightened with 25 suspected alerts investigated.

Epidemic Curve

Trend Analysis Transmission has significantly slowed following the peak in August/September. The flatlining curve in November indicates effective containment strategies.

Demographic Impact

Risk Groups The outbreak has disproportionately affected economically active groups: Business persons (25%), Students (22%), and Miners (21%).

Outbreak Spotlight: Measles

Active response continues for localized measles clusters. A total of 117 cases have been managed since August, with vaccination campaigns intensified in affected districts.

Geographic Clusters

Hotspots Balaka District accounts for >50% of all cases (62 cases), identifying it as the primary priority area for supplementary immunization activities.

Vaccination Status

Data Gap 75% of cases have an unknown vaccination history. This data gap is a critical challenge for verifying vaccine efficacy vs. coverage failure.

Event-Based Surveillance (EBS)

Community engagement has surged, with reported signals tripling from the previous week (14 to 49). This demonstrates improved sensitivity at the community level.

1

Detection

49 signals reported by community members and health workers.

2

Verification

11 signals (22%) verified as genuine public health events; 38 pending or discarded.

3

Response

3 High Risk events triggered immediate RRT deployment. 6 Moderate, 2 Low.

Risk Profile Breakdown

Signal Triage The high number of “Unclassified” signals (78%) suggests a need for faster initial verification protocols to clear the backlog.
Download Official Bulletin (PDF)

© 2025 Public Health Institute of Malawi. All Rights Reserved.

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