http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/health_content ... 04_ph.aspx

Intergovernmental meeting on pandemic influenza preparedness (virus sharing) 8-13 December 2008, Geneva

Next week WHO is organising a third intergovernmental meeting on influenza virus sharing and access to vaccines and other benefits. The last two meeting were in November 2007 and April 2008. Progress has been considerable since the last meeting including the development of an Advisory Mechanism, which is a network to monitor, provide guidance to strengthen the functioning of the trust-based system needed to protect public health and undertake necessary assessment of that trust-based system.

Sharing of influenza viruses has been going on for many years since the creation of WHO’s Global Influenza Surveillance Network. It is essential to global health security, the early detection of pandemics and influenza vaccine production. This specific issue being discussed goes back to early 2007 and the decision of Indonesia to suspend sharing of one important class of influenza viruses, the avian influenza A(H5N1) in humans because it did not feel it was getting sufficient benefit back from the process.

Briefings on the issues for EU countries has been available since 2007 and these has been brought up to date this week at: http://ecdc.europa.eu/pdf/ECDC_influenza_briefing.pdf

For more information about this meeting and the WHO initiative click here

Comment to influenza@ecdc.europa.eu