The WHO global influenza surveillance and response system (GISRS)—A future perspective

Hay, Alan J; McCauley, John W

Moreover, licensure of new antivirals, for example targeting the virus polymerase, or therapeutic monoclonal antibodies targeting, for example the HA stalk, 66, 67 will require the application of new phenotypic assays to complement molecular markers for resistance. The threat of a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus causing zoonotic infections to develop into a pandemic akin to that of 1918-19 caught the imagination and galvanised a global response, one outcome of which was the PIP Framework, instituted to bolster fairness and transparency in the benefit of the "global system." It is important, however, to recognise and be aware of the potential future impact of changes to a network which has been largely autonomous and self-financed by member states for 65 years, to include more formal arrangements for receiving additional financial support from PIP partnership contributions, amounting to half of the estimated running cost of GISRS, and involving WHO, on behalf of member states, directly in formal sharing of IVPP viruses. 21 Given the success of its 70-year-old Global Influenza Programme, the WHO has a crucial responsibility for ensuring that these additional resources are used to the best advantage, in a synergistic manner, to strengthen GISRS, under the umbrella of its GIP, to enable countries to meet their IHR responsibilities and promote benefit sharing initiatives, as well as for ensuring that GISRS' extensive complementary scientific expertise and collaborative ethos remain fully engaged to the benefit of global health security.