World Flu Day: momentum from China for influenza control

The 1st World Flu Day was formally launched at the Asian-Pacific Centenary Spanish 1918-flu symposium in Shenzhen, to raise public awareness of influenza and accelerate scientific innovation and basic research efforts particularly the development of a universal flu vaccine. Prof George Fu Gao, Director of China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention and fellow researchers are pushing for stronger global political will in continuing the support of influenza prevention and control.

“2018 also marks the 15-year commemoration of the SARS outbreak, after which strengthening the CDC became the top priority in China's public policy agenda. As a result, China boosted investment in the public health system, strengthening national and local surveillance systems for all infectious diseases more efficiently and effectively, and improving research capacity, especially for emerging infectious diseases.” says Prof. Gao

> see The Lancet

Marie-Paule Kieny talks Ethics and Data Sharing at Grand Challenges 2018

Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny spoke in Berlin on October 18th at the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting, co-hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the German Federal Ministry of Education & Research, discussing "Sequence data sharing – the influenza GISAID model and its wider applicability".

“In a world where global emerging disease threats demand effective sharing of information, GISAID has demonstrated what can be achieved by galvanizing the interests of public health officials, academia and industry to combat influenza” says Dr Kieny

GIHSN to share epidemiological and virological data on severe influenza via GISAID

Sanofi Pasteur’s Foundation for Influenza Epidemiology has awarded GISAID €300,000 to strengthen the Initiative and enhance its EpiFlu™ database and educational programs. In partnership with the Foundation’s Global Influenza Hospital-based Surveillance Network (GIHSN), GISAID will help promote the sharing and integration of clinical, epidemiological and virological data to better understand the impact of severe influenza and the benefit of vaccination.

“Given the high variability of influenza virus circulation, generation of comparable data across seasons with a broad geographical scope are required”, says Dr. Cédric Mahé, President of the Foundation and Head of Epidemiology at Sanofi Pasteur.

> read more

Recommended composition of influenza virus vaccines for use in the 2019 Southern Hemisphere Influenza Season announced

(Atlanta) Experts taking part in the WHO vaccine composition and information meeting (VCM) between 24-26 September, at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Surveillance, Epidemiology & Control of Influenza at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recommend components for vaccines for the 2019 Southern Hemisphere influenza season. 

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GISAID announces a major contribution from Seqirus

GISAID welcomes a €250,000 donation from Seqirus, a leading innovator in influenza vaccine technologies and pandemic response solutions. Seqirus is the first influenza vaccine company to make a significant financial contribution to GISAID.

“Seqirus is proud to support GISAID in its mission to provide open and rapid access to influenza virus data for the public health good of all nations,” said Gordon Naylor, President of Seqirus

> read more

Renowned scientist and public health specialist to advise the GISAID Initiative on international affairs

Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, a former Assistant Director-General of WHO will advise GISAID on international affairs. Most recently Dr Kieny led the WHO research & development initiative during the Ebola crisis resulting in the WHO R&D Blueprint for public health emergencies, with an emphasis on enhanced global collaboration and timely sample and data sharing to support rapid emergency response.

“In a world where global emerging disease threats demand effective sharing of information, GISAID has demonstrated what can be achieved by galvanizing the interests of public health officials, academia and industry to combat influenza” said Dr. Kieny

Celebrating 70 Years GIP and 65 Years Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System

GISAID salutes GIP and GISRS. It was 1947 when the WHO’s Interim Committee recognized the importance of Influenza and started a globally-coordinated effort for its surveillance, study and control that saw the beginning of the Global Influenza Programme. By 1952, the WHO Executive Board called for an influenza surveillance system to collect, correlate and distribute information regarding occurrence, epidemiology and laboratory findings. Today GISRS encompasses 143 institutions across 113 Member States. A global disease surveillance network built on voluntary collaboration and real-time reporting that makes up the backbone of today's global influenza surveillance.  

Science Editorial: Can we beat influenza?

G20 Health Ministers recognize the importance of GISAID in regard to virus data sharing

At the invitation of Germany, the first meeting of Health Ministers of the Group of Twenty leading industrialized and emerging economies (G20) took place in Berlin between 19-20 May 2017.

Under the banner of “Together Today for a Healthy Tomorrow – Joint Commitment for Shaping Global Health”, the two-day meeting focused on combating global health hazards. In their Berlin Declaration, the G20 Health Ministers recognize the importance of the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID).

> read more
> The Berlin Declaration of the G20 Health Ministers (2017)

Sharing of Ebola data needs good practice framework, what GISAID did for influenza

The rapid dissemination of results during outbreaks is sporadic at best. In the case of influenza, a global initiative called GISAID established a framework for good practice. Largely thanks to this, during the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak, it became a go-to place for the community to deposit and locate H1N1 sequence information.

Pardis C. Sabeti et al, Nature 518, 477–479 (26 February 2015)

> Read the commentary
> WHO Ebola Situation Report