About CDC's Global Influenza Program

Purpose

  • CDC's Global Influenza Program improves global capacity to prevent and mitigate seasonal and pandemic influenza (flu).
  • CDC builds and maintains strong global surveillance systems to detect and respond to flu threats to support global health security.
  • The Global Influenza Program also helps improve availability of effective vaccines for seasonal and pandemic flu in the United States and in countries across the globe.
People in a huddle around a bird in a live bird market

Overview of CDC's Global Influenza Program

The CDC Influenza Division Global Program works with a wide range of global partners to build capacity to respond to flu threats.

Core activities include:

  • working with partners to establish, expand, and maintain flu surveillance and laboratory capacity,
  • helping develop global and local pandemic plans and flu prevention policies,
  • supporting targeted research projects to address critical needs, and
  • building the evidence base for flu vaccine program expansion.

CDC also serves as a WHO Collaborating Center to monitor seasonal flu, detect novel flu, and identify candidate vaccine viruses for use in making seasonal and pre-pandemic flu vaccines. Visit CDC's role as a Collaborating Center and GISRS: Backbone of global surveillance to learn more.

Program impact

Influenza Division Global Work by the Numbers
Influenza Division Global Work by the Numbers

Influenza Division Global Work by the Numbers

  • 8 regional hubs located in Africa, Asia, and South America
  • 16 countries supported through the Partnership for Influenza Vaccine Introduction (PIVI).
  • 40+ cooperative agreements with partner countries or organizations to increase capacity to respond to seasonal and pandemic flu.
  • 125 countries where the Influenza Division has engaged in activities since 2004.
  • 14 countries in which Influenza Division's international work informed immunization policy decision making.
  • 45+ Global Influenza Branch field staff are embedded in countries across the world.
  • 1000+ partner organizations, including ministries of health, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions.
  • 190+ countries have received support from the Influenza Division through the International Reagent Resource (IRR) since 2016
  • 989+ Global Influenza staff publications (with 48,787 citations since 2004)
  • 5+ million influenza vaccines donated to low and middle income countries since 2012.

Program priorities

Improving global capacity to prevent and mitigate seasonal and pandemic flu by:

  • optimizing surveillance and response activities
  • generating evidence for flu vaccines and antiviral use
  • strengthening equitable seasonal flu vaccine policies and programs
  • enhancing novel, pandemic, and seasonal preparedness.
Seasonal influenza surveillance defends against global emerging threats and supports pandemic preparedness
CDC's Global Influenza Program Enhances Global Health Security

CDC's Global Influenza Program Enhances Global Health Security

Seasonal influenza surveillance defends against global emerging threats and supports pandemic preparedness

Seasonal

  • Surveillance capacity to detect influenza
  • Laboratory capacity to identify viruses
  • Data to inform vaccine strain selection
  • Vaccine infrastructure and uptake
  • Evidence base to support policy decisions
  • Reduce health and economic impacts of influenza

Pandemic

  • Identify concerning activity and ensure rapid response
  • Identify viruses with pandemic potential
  • Develop pandemic candidate vaccine viruses
  • Infrastructure for pandemic vaccination campaigns
  • Pandemic preparedness planning
  • Mitigate health and economic impacts of emerging threats

Global flu updates

For the latest summaries of global flu surveillance, visit Influenza Surveillance and Monitoring. A summary of flu activity in the United States is available in the weekly FluView report.

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