Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS)
![Electron microscopic picture of an H5N1 virus.](/web/20200509174308im_/https://www.who.int/influenza/gisrs_laboratory/microscope_h5n1virus.jpg)
Courtesy of WHO Collaborating Center for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals, Memphis, USA
Global influenza surveillance has been conducted through WHO's Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) since 1952.
GISRS is a system fostering global confidence and trust for over half a century, through effective collaboration and sharing of viruses, data and benefits based on Member States’ commitment to a global public health model.
The mission of GISRS is to protect people from the threat of influenza by continuously functioning as a:
- global mechanism of surveillance, preparedness and response for seasonal, pandemic and zoonotic influenza;
- global platform for monitoring influenza epidemiology and disease; and
- global alert for novel influenza viruses and other respiratory pathogens.
In focus
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28 February 2020
WHO recommendation announced in WHO Information Meeting on the Composition of Influenza Virus Vaccines for Use in the 2020-2021 Northern Hemisphere Influenza Season
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17 - 19 July 2017
WHO Meeting of National Influenza Centres
GISRS currently comprises institutions in 115 WHO Member States:
Nomenclature
- Standardization of terminology for the pandemic A(H1N1)2009 virus
- Standardization of terminology for the influenza virus variants infecting humans: Update Jan 2014
- Updated unified nomenclature system for the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses
- New clade designation of H5 HA
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Standardization of terminology for the avian influenza A(H7N9) virus
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