Global Activities

Continuous global surveillance and monitoring of influenza is essential. Rapid detection of unusual influenza outbreaks, isolation of possible pandemic viruses and the immediate notification of national and international health authorities is critical for mounting a timely and effective response to a pandemic potential.

Pandemic Planning Activities  

• Pandemic Preparedness (World Health Organization)
  
  WHO home page on preparing for an influenza pandemic.
• Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response: WHO Guidance
  This 2009 guidance replaces the 2005 guidance. Core strategic document of preparedness materails. Provides detailed information on specific recommendations and activities, and guidance on their implementation. Presents pandemic stages and their definitions.
• Responding to the Avian Influenza Pandemic Threat: Recommended Strategic Actions (PDF - 13 KB) (World Health Organization)
  
  Read about preparation activities that individual countries can take for the next pandemic.
• WHO Pandemic Influenza Draft Protocol for Rapid Response and Containment (PDF - 194 KB) (World Health Organization)
  
  The protocol has four main parts: recognition of the signal or "triggering" event; immediate actions following recognition of the signal; actions that should be undertaken once the event has been verified, the overall situation has been assessed, and a decision has been made to launch the rapid containment operation; and information about the deployment of the global antiviral stockpile.
• WHO Checklist for Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Planning (World Health Organization)
  Read a WHO publication on pandemic preparedness planning, available in several languages.
  
• Pandemic Influenza Evaluation and Capacity Review Tools
  Flu surveillance, laboratory testing and inventory tools for use by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) international partners and collaborating countries.
  
• Influenza Technologies Available for Product Development
  Learn how HHS facilitates the worldwide development of new influenza technologies.

H5N1 (Bird) Flu

Coordination Activities  

• U.S. Joins Health and Agriculture Ministers at International Meeting in Hanoi to Address Ongoing Pandemic Preparedness(U.S. Department of State)
  The U.S. Delegation noted the U.S. Government’s investment of over $1.5 billion to combat avian and pandemic influenza around the world. This figure represents an additional $627 million since the previous 2008 International Ministerial Conference Avian and Pandemic Influenza conference held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

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Global Monitoring  

• Confirmed Human Cases of Avian Influenza A (H5N1) (World Health Organization)
  Stay informed with this up-to-date listing of confirmed cases of avian influenza A (H5N1)
• Situation Updates - Avian Influenza (World Health Organization)
  
  Read avian influenza situation updates as they occur by country and by date
• Outbreaks of Avian Influenza (Subtype H5N1) in Poultry (PDF - 14 KB) (World Organisation for Animal Health)
  View a graph of avian influenza outbreaks in poultry by country from the end of 2003 to the present.
• H5N1 Timeline (PDF - 242 KB) (WHO)
  
  Review a chronology of avian influenza outbreaks in animals and humans from 1996 to the present.
• Update on Human Cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Infection: 2009 (World Health Organization)
  During 2009, 73 laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) virus were reported to WHO from 5 countries. This report summarizes these cases.
• Global Avian Influenza Network for Surveillance
  This international consortium focuses efforts on the global monitoring of infectious diseases that can be carried by domestic or wild birds.

Related Information  

• Bird and Pandemic Flu Information from Other Nations and Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)
  Access a list of pandemic influenza planning Web sites from other countries.

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H1N1 (Swine) Flu

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared an end to the global 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic on August 10, 2010.

Coordination Activities  

• U.S. Joins Health and Agriculture Ministers at International Meeting in Hanoi to Address Ongoing Pandemic Preparedness (U.S. Department of State)
  The U.S. Delegation noted the U.S. Government’s investment of over $1.5 billion to combat avian and pandemic influenza around the world. This figure represents an additional $627 million since the previous 2008 International Ministerial Conference Avian and Pandemic Influenza conference held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
• Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Vaccine Deployment Update (PDF - 51 KB) (World Health Organization)
  WHO is coordinating the distribution of donated pandemic flu vaccine to 76 countries.
• Collaboration in Response to the A (H1N1) Virus - Text en Español (Pan American Health Organization (PAHO))
  Representatives of several agencies of the United Nations system in Latin America and the Caribbean, together with PAHO Director Dr. Mirta Roses Periago, outlined the level of transparency and collaboration with which the Region faced the spread of the A(H1N1) influenza virus. Text in Spanish only.
• Influenza A(H1N1) en español (World Health Organization)
  Get WHO guidance for national authorities, communities, health officials, and individuals.  Read daily situation updates and view outbreak maps.
• U.S. to Provide Antiviral Medication to Latin America and the Caribbean for Novel H1N1 Influenza
  U.S. provides 420,000 treatment courses of Tamiflu (Oseltamavir) to the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) to fight the novel H1N1 influenza in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• 2009 H1N1 Flu (U.S. Department of State)
  View the video or read the press-briefing transcript on coordination efforts between the U.S., Mexico, and WHO.  
• USAID Provides $5M in Emergency Support as Swine Flu Spreads (U.S. Agency for International Development)

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Global Monitoring  

• Situation Updates - H1N1 Flu (World Health Organization)
  Global situation updates on the spread of H1N1.
• Timeline of Influenza A(H1N1) Cases (World Health Organization)
  This interactive world map shows the cumulative spread of new influenza A(H1N1) cases as they were reported to WHO beginning 26 April 2009.
• Global Surveillance during an Influenza Pandemic (PDF – 618KB) - updated draft, April 2009
• Assessment of the 2009 Influenza A (H1N1) Outbreak on Selected Countries in the Southern Hemisphere
  This assessment explores the characteristics and impact of the disease in select southern hemisphere countries that experienced the 2009 H1N1 outbreak in May to August, 2009.

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