While reporting avian influenza, I cannot find H5 and H7 serotypes in the drop-down list provided, how should I proceed?
For harmonisation purposes, it is not possible to report avian influenza without having identified the full serotype, that is, if both the typed hemagglutinin (H5 or H7) and the typed neuraminidase (NX) are not known. Therefore, if the information is not known, countries are asked to select one of the following generic values: "pending", "untyped or partially typed", "not sampled" or "other". These generic values can then be updated with the full serotype in the follow-up reports if typing is performed later.
Please be aware that once a specific serotype value is selected, it cannot be changed in subsequent follow-up reports. For this reason, for influenza viruses, reporting countries are asked to report as follows:
If the subtype is known as HXNY (hemagglutinin and neuraminidase typed): report the value as such,
If the subtype is unknown: choose one of the four existing generic values as mentioned above,
If known hemagglutinin but unknown neuraminidase: select a value in the format "HX (N untyped)" only if you are confident that neuraminidase typing will not be required or performed.
If known hemagglutinin but unknown neuraminidase with intention to perform neuraminidase typing: select the generic value "untyped or partially typed", pending full HXNX typing. Provide the HX subtype value information in text in the epidemiological comment. The generic "not typed or partially typed" value can be updated with the HXNY value in subsequent follow-up reports.