The World Health Organization (WHO) has agreed on the recommended composition of the trivalent influenza vaccine for the northern hemisphere 2015-2016.
This meeting was designed to offer a place to exchange the latest information on into the development of narcolepsy following vaccination with one of the 2009 adjuvanted influenza A(H1N1) vaccines.
Location:Geneva, Switzerland
Organized by:International Alliance for Biological Standardisation and the World Health Organization
The WHO recommendations reflect the currently circulating viruses in the southern hemisphere, and the change of both A(H3N2) and B virus components is based on the available surveillance and virus characterisation data.
The results from three animal species all point in the same direction: it seems possible to develop influenza vaccine candidates with at least broader cross-protection and possibly universal ones using different technologies.
This new publication from Novartis in collaboration with public health and academic researchers in Finland and the US adds to the evidence-base on how narcolepsy might have been triggered in genetically susceptible individuals.
This issue of the ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) covers the period 10-16 May 2015, and includes updates on influenza, Salmonella Enteritidis, polio, avian influenza, Ebola virus, Mycobacterium chimaera and MERS.
This report provides an update on seasonal influenza immunisation policies and vaccination coverage rates in EU/EEA Member States for the 2012–13 influenza season.
ECDC welcomes the Council Conclusions, as of 1 December 2014, and will continue to support the EU and its Member States in responding to the invitations for action described in these and previous Council conclusions.