Influenza response planning for the centers of excellence for influenza research and surveillance: Science preparedness for enhancing global health security

• Published in: Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses Vol. 14; no. 4; pp. 444 - 451
• Main Authors: Moore, Kristine A., Ostrowsky, Julia T., Mehr, Angela J., Osterholm, Michael T., Compans, Richard W, García‐Sastre, Adolfo, Orenstein, Walter A, Pekosz, Andrew, Perez, Daniel R, Rothman, Richard E, Sauer, Lauren M, Schultz‐Cherry, Stacey L, Steel, John, Topham, David J, Treanor, John J, Webby, Richard J
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.07.2020; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Delphi method; Development and progression; disease outbreaks; Emergencies; Emergency preparedness; Emergency procedures; Emergency response; Epidemics; Global health; Health surveillance; Infectious diseases; Influenza; influenza A virus; Influenza research; influenza vaccines; Leadership; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; National Institutes of Health; Original; Pandemics; Pathogens; Planning; Priorities; Public health; public health practice; public health preparedness; Respiratory diseases; Science; science preparedness; Security; Surveillance; Swine flu; Viruses; World health; United States > US; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; influenza; public health practice; influenza vaccines; disease outbreaks; science preparedness; National Institutes of Health; pandemics; public health preparedness; influenza A virus
• ISSN: 1750-2640; 1750-2659
• DOI: 10.1111/irv.12742

Background The Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS) network, funded by the US National Institutes of Health, has been operational since 2007 and is tasked with conducting research to improve understanding of influenza viruses. Recently, CEIRS developed an Influenza Response Plan (IRP) to improve science preparedness for the network. Methods Development of the IRP involved a collaborative process between project staff, CEIRS center directors or their designees, and NIAID CEIRS leadership (referred to as the Pandemic Planning Advisory Committee [PPAC]). Project staff identified and summarized the response capabilities of each center and then worked with the PPAC to identify and rank research priorities for an emergency response using a modified Delphi method. Results Key elements of the response plan include tables of response capabilities for each CEIRS center, a framework that outlines and ranks research priorities for CEIRS during an emergency situation, and an operational strategy for executing the research priorities. Conclusions The CEIRS IRP highlights the importance of enhancing science preparedness in advance of an influenza pandemic or other influenza‐related zoonotic incident to ensure that research can be carried out expeditiously and effectively in emergency situations and to improve global health security.