Global Influenza Programme

Last updated

The Global Influenza Programme (GIP) is a program launched in 1947 by the World Health Organization with the purpose to provide member states with guidance, support and coordination of activities in order to make their health systems better prepared against seasonal, zoonotic and pandemic influenza threats to populations and individuals. [1] GIP was initiated as one of WHO's initial programs. [2]

Contents

History

In 1947, an immediate concern in Europe was a major influenza outbreak in the continent, as well as the need to identify appropriate viruses for a vaccine against the circulating strains. The WHO Interim Committee of the United Nations agreed to begin a Global Influenza Programme (GIP) for the study and control of influenza. In 1948, the Interim Committee recommended the establishment of the first World Influenza Centre at the National Institute for Medical Research in London along with Regional Centres and Observers. A total of 38 regional centers (later named National Influenza Centers) were summoned to participate in the effort, which took extensive activity to develop plans and coordinate information and virus sharing. Five years after the establishment of GIP, the Global Influenza Surveillance Network (GISN) was established out of need for an influenza surveillance system to inform the methods for disease prevention and control. GISN would be later renamed Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS). [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

Antiviral drug Medication used to treat a viral infection

Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Unlike most antibiotics, antiviral drugs do not destroy their target pathogen; instead they inhibit its development.

Avian influenza Influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds

Avian influenza, known informally as avian flu or bird flu, is a variety of influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds. The type with the greatest risk is highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Bird flu is similar to swine flu, dog flu, horse flu and human flu as an illness caused by strains of influenza viruses that have adapted to a specific host. Out of the three types of influenza viruses, influenza A virus is a zoonotic infection with a natural reservoir almost entirely in birds. Avian influenza, for most purposes, refers to the influenza A virus.

Oseltamivir Antiviral medication used against influenza A and influenza B

Oseltamivir, sold under the brand name Tamiflu, is an antiviral medication used to treat and prevent influenza A and influenza B, the viruses that cause the flu. Many medical organizations recommend it in people who have complications or are at high risk of complications within 48 hours of first symptoms of infection. They recommend it to prevent infection in those at high risk, but not the general population. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that clinicians use their discretion to treat those at lower risk who present within 48 hours of first symptoms of infection. It is taken by mouth, either as a pill or liquid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Influenza vaccine</span> Vaccine against influenza

Influenza vaccines, also known as flu jabs or flu shots, are vaccines that protect against infection by influenza viruses. New versions of the vaccines are developed twice a year, as the influenza virus rapidly changes. While their effectiveness varies from year to year, most provide modest to high protection against influenza. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that vaccination against influenza reduces sickness, medical visits, hospitalizations, and deaths. Immunized workers who do catch the flu return to work half a day sooner on average. Vaccine effectiveness in those over 65 years old remains uncertain due to a lack of high-quality research. Vaccinating children may protect those around them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flu season</span> Recurring periods of influenza

Flu season is an annually recurring time period characterized by the prevalence of an outbreak of influenza (flu). The season occurs during the cold half of the year in each hemisphere. Influenza activity can sometimes be predicted and even tracked geographically. While the beginning of major flu activity in each season varies by location, in any specific location these minor epidemics usually take about three weeks to reach its pinnacle, and another 3 weeks to significantly diminish.

Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 Subtype of Influenza A virus

In virology, influenza A virus subtype H1N1 (A/H1N1) is a subtype of Influenza A virus. Well known outbreaks of H1N1 strains in humans include the Spanish flu, the 1977 Russian flu pandemic and the 2009 swine flu pandemic. It is an orthomyxovirus that contains the glycoproteins hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. For this reason, they are described as H1N1, H1N2 etc., depending on the type of H or N antigens they express with metabolic synergy. Hemagglutinin causes red blood cells to clump together and binds the virus to the infected cell. Neuraminidase is a type of glycoside hydrolase enzyme which helps to move the virus particles through the infected cell and assist in budding from the host cells.

Influenza pandemic Pandemic involving influenza

An influenza pandemic is an epidemic of an influenza virus that spreads across a large region and infects a large proportion of the population. There have been six major influenza epidemics in the last 140 years, with the 1918 flu pandemic being the most severe; this is estimated to have been responsible for the deaths of 50–100 million people. The most recent, the 2009 swine flu pandemic, resulted in under 300,000 deaths and is considered relatively mild. These pandemics occur irregularly.

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Agency of the European Union

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is an agency of the European Union (EU) whose mission is to strengthen Europe's defences against infectious diseases. It covers a wide spectrum of activities, such as: surveillance, epidemic intelligence, response, scientific advice, microbiology, preparedness, public health training, international relations, health communication, and the scientific journal Eurosurveillance.

The National Institute of Virology in Pune, India is an Indian virology research institute and part of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). It was previously known as 'Virus Research Centre' and was founded in collaboration with the Rockefeller Foundation. It has been designated as a WHO H5 reference laboratory for SE Asia region.

Influenza Infectious disease, "the flu"

Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms begin from one to four days after exposure to the virus and last for about 2–8 days. Diarrhea and vomiting can occur, particularly in children. Influenza may progress to pneumonia, which can be caused by the virus or by a subsequent bacterial infection. Other complications of infection include acute respiratory distress syndrome, meningitis, encephalitis, and worsening of pre-existing health problems such as asthma and cardiovascular disease.

Influenza-like illness Medical diagnosis

Influenza-like illness (ILI), also known as flu-like syndrome or flu-like symptoms, is a medical diagnosis of possible influenza or other illness causing a set of common symptoms. These include fever, shivering, chills, malaise, dry cough, loss of appetite, body aches, and nausea, sneezing typically in connection with a sudden onset of illness. In most cases, the symptoms are caused by cytokines released by immune system activation, and are thus relatively non-specific.

2009 swine flu pandemic 2009–2010 pandemic of swine influenza caused by H1N1 influenza virus

The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the H1N1 influenza virus and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 2009 to August 2010, is the third recent flu pandemic involving the H1N1 virus. The first two cases were discovered independently in the United States in April 2009. The virus appeared to be a new strain of H1N1 that resulted from a previous triple reassortment of bird, swine, and human flu viruses which further combined with a Eurasian pig flu virus, leading to the term "swine flu".

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is the national public health institute for Nigeria. It is a federal government agency under the Federal Ministry of Health (Nigeria), with its headquarters in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory.

Arnold Monto American physician and epidemiologist

Arnold Monto, MD, FIDSA, FACE, DABMM is an American physician and epidemiologist. At the University of Michigan School of Public Health, Monto is the Thomas Francis Jr. Collegiate Professor of Public Health, professor of epidemiology, and professor of global public health. His research focuses on the occurrence, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases in industrialized and developing countries' populations.

1957–1958 influenza pandemic Pandemic of influenza virus (H2N2)

The 1957–1958 Asian flu pandemic was a global pandemic of influenza A virus subtype H2N2 that originated in Guizhou in southern China. The number of excess deaths caused by the pandemic is estimated to be 1–4 million around the world, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in history. A decade later, a reassorted viral strain H3N2 further caused the Hong Kong flu pandemic (1968–1969).

Allison Joan McGeer is a Canadian infectious disease specialist in the Sinai Health System, and a professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. She also appointed at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and a Senior Clinician Scientist at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, and is a partner of the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases. McGeer has led investigations into the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in Toronto and worked alongside Donald Low. During the COVID-19 pandemic, McGeer has studied how SARS-CoV-2 survives in the air and has served on several provincial committees advising aspects of the Government of Ontario's pandemic response.

Sylvie Champaloux Briand is a French physician who is Director of the Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases Department at the World Health Organization. Briand led the Global Influenza Programme during the 2009 swine flu pandemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Briand launched the WHO Information Network for Epidemics which looked to counter the spread of COVID-19 misinformation.

Andrea Ammon German physician

Andrea Ammon is a German physician and the current director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), a European Union (EU) agency strengthening Europe's defence against infectious disease. She advised the German government on the SARS and Influenza A virus subtype H2N2 outbreaks.

The Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) is a global network of laboratories that has for purpose to monitor the spread of influenza with the aim to provide the World Health Organization with influenza control information. It was established in 1952 to conduct global influenza surveillance. GISRS is coordinated by WHO and endorsed by national governments. More than two million respiratory specimens are tested by GISRS annually to monitor the spread and evolution of influenza viruses through a network of about 150 laboratories in 114 countries representing 91% of the world's population. GISRS operates FluNet, an online tool used for virological surveillance of influenza.

Type A influenza vaccine is for the prevention of infection of influenza A virus and also the influenza-related complications. Different monovalent type A influenza vaccines have been developed for different subtypes of influenza A virus including H1N1 and H5N1. Both intramuscular injection or intranasal spray are available on market. Unlike the seasonal influenza vaccines which are used annually, they are usually used during the outbreak of certain strand of subtypes of influenza A. Common adverse effects includes injection site reaction and local tenderness. Incidences of headache and myalgia were also reported with H1N1 whereas cases of fever has also been demonstrated with H5N1 vaccines. It is stated that immunosuppressant therapies would reduce the therapeutic effects of vaccines and that people with egg allergy should go for the egg-free preparations.

References

  1. "About the Global Influenza Programme". who.int. Archived from the original on October 3, 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  2. Alan J Hay; John W McCauley (2018). "The WHO global influenza surveillance and response system (GISRS)—A future perspective". Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses. 12 (5): 551–557. doi:10.1111/irv.12565. PMC   6086842 . PMID   29722140.
  3. Monto, Arnold S. (2018). "Reflections on The Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) at 65 Years: An Expanding Framework for Influenza Detection, Prevention and Control". Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses. 12 (1): 10–12. doi: 10.1111/irv.12511 . PMC   5818347 . PMID   29460424. CC BY icon-80x15.png  This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 4.0 license.