Overview
- Tucumán’s health ministry reported its first H3N2‑K case in a 56‑year‑old woman from San Miguel de Tucumán, confirmed by Instituto Malbrán; she was discharged in good condition and household contacts remained negative.
- Geresa Cusco confirmed its first H3N2‑K case in a girl aged one year and three months from Kosñipata, validated by Peru’s INS after a sample taken in November yielded a result on January 23.
- Cusco authorities activated a targeted surveillance plan focused on sentinel facilities, emphasizing that genotyping depends on centralized sequencing at INS.
- Operational gaps are limiting situational awareness in Cusco, where 13 submitted specimens led to only three accepted for analysis and one H3N2‑K confirmation, with nearly seven weeks between sampling and result.
- Officials describe H3N2‑K as more transmissible with partial immune escape, urge vaccination, early medical consultation for flu‑like symptoms, masking for high‑risk people, hand hygiene and ventilation, and note current clinical management follows seasonal influenza protocols.