Europe needs a sustainably funded influenza research and response network

Six ESWI Board Members, led by Prof. Florian Krammer, together with a long list of prominent European scientists specialised in virology, immunology, infectious diseases and epidemiology, have recently published a commentary in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

“We had four influenza pandemics since 1900 and it is very likely that the next pandemic will be caused by an influenza virus again. The current situation with H5N1 highlights this problem. Europe needs to get prepared for that. With uncertainty of research funding in the US, it will be even more important to invest in influenza research and pandemic preparedness in Europe”, Prof. Florian Krammer, ESWI Board Member, Department of Microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (New York, USA) and Medicine at the Medical University of Vienna (Austria). 

Confronted with the ongoing H5N1 panzootic and the continued pandemic risk, European scientists urge funders and policymakers to establish a European equivalent of the US Network, Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (CEIRR), with a strong focus on building a long-lasting influenza research and response network across European borders.

Europe has a large number of excellent influenza researchers, some of whom are already contributing to CEIRR. However, funding remains unstable and current research activities are fragmented.  What Europe lacks is a cohesive and sustained network, similar to CEIRR, with strong ties to national and EU policymakers to ensure long-term pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.