The World Health Organization (WHO) and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) held a worldwide meeting Nov. 18-20 in Geneva titled “The fourth WHO Informal Consultation for Improving Influenza Vaccine Virus Selection.”
An estimated 120 international and local influenza experts attended the meeting to discuss ways for improving worldwide surveillance of emerging as well as circulating influenza strains. Participants discussed research programs that will address various food safety concerns, including vaccines that will control various infections found in farm animals. This could, in turn, decrease the number of infections that humans contract from animals.
Participants will now be able to better anticipate which flu virus strains will be part of the flu season, allowing researchers to create more accurate and effective vaccines for the flu. Currently, health officials make their recommendations for the strains in the flu vaccines in February and September every year and carefully analyze and compare recent circulating viruses from around the world to determine which are most likely to cause seasonal influenza cases.
