Days 1-2: February 5, 2007 (half day, start-time 1 PM) - February 6, 2007 (full day)

Day 1: February 5, 2007 (half day)

• 12:00-1:00 Registration

Session I. Welcome and Introduction (1:00-2:20)

• 1:00-1:15 Welcome address by Hugo Fernandez, Argentina Ministry of Health and Vilma Savy, Institute of Infectious Diseases, ANLIS Dr. Carlos Malbran, WHO National Influenza Center
• 1:15-1:30 Overview of Multinational Influenza Seasonal Mortality Study (MISMS) (Mark Miller, MD, NIH Fogarty International Center, US)
• 1:30-1:45 Tropical influenza: Global patterns of circulation and mortality impact (Cecile Viboud, PhD, NIH Fogarty International Center, US)
• 1:45-2:05 Seasonality of influenza in Brazil: a traveling wave from the Amazon to the sub-tropics (Wladimir Alonso, PhD, NIH Fogarty International Center, US)
• 2:05-2:20 Questions
  

Session II. Status report of MISMS research results (2:20-3:40)

• 2:20-2:40 Evidence of vaccine benefits: from excess mortality to clinical trials (Lone Simonsen, PhD, NIH, US)
• 2:40-3:00Influenza-related mortality in Italy: epidemic and pandemic impact and long-term trends associated with vaccination (Caterina Rizzo, MD, Department of Pharmaco-Biology, University of Bari, Italy)
• 3:00-3:20 Transmission studies of influenza: estimates of transmissibility and implications for disease control; spatial and temporal spread of epidemics (Cecile Viboud, PhD, NIH Fogarty International Center, US)
• 3:20-3:40 Questions

• 3:40-4:10 Coffee break

Session III (part 1). Investigator Reports (4:10-5:40)

• 4:10-4:25 Surveillance of influenza virus and other respiratory viruses in Bolivia: Present and future (Aleida Nina, MSc, Chief, Virology Laboratory, National Institute of Health Laboratories (INLASA), Bolivia)
• 4:25-4:40 Infecciones Respiratorias Agudas y Pneumonias en Guatemala (Leticia Castillo, Supervisor, Virology, National Laboratory, Guatemala)
• 4:40-4:55 Influenza in Mexico: The last 100 Years (Rodolfo Acuna-Soto, PhD, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico)
• 5:15-5:30 Incidence of Influenza-like Illness and Acute Respiratory Illness in a Cohort of Nicaraguan Children (Aubree Gordon, University of California - Berkeley, US)
• 5:10-5:25 Influenza: Laboratorio de Virus Respiratorios (Yvonne Torres de Yon, MSc, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Peru)
• 5:25-5:40 Questions

Day 2 - February 6, 2007 (full day)

Session III (part 2). Investigator Reports (8:30-10:20)

• 08:30-08:45 Avian influenza in the South Cone (Elsa Baumeister, PhD, National Reference Laboratory, Carlos Malbran Institute, Argentina)
• 09:45-09:00 Virologic surveillance of influenza in Argentina (Vilma Savy, PhD, Chief, Respiratory Viruses Service INEI - ANLIS, Argentina)
• 09:00-09:15 Influenza Surveillance in Uruguay - Epidemiology and Laboratory (Hector Chiparelli, MD, Chief of Virology, Ministry of Public Health, Adjunct Professor, Clinical Lab Department, Universidad de la Republica, Uruguay)
• 09:15-09:30 Virologic Surveillance of Influenza in the Brazilian Amazon (Wyller Alencar de Mello, PhD, Evandro Chagas Institute FUNASA National Influenza Center, Brazil)
• 09:30-09:45 Influenza infections in Northeast Brazil: Comparison of data from national surveillance program and other studies (Fernanda Edna Araujo Moura, Federal University of Ceara, Brazil)
• 09:45-10:00 Molecular Epidemiology of Influenza Viruses in South and Southeast Brazil (Fernando Motta, PhD, Institute Oswaldo Cruz, Brazil)
• 10:00-10:20 Questions

• 10:20-11:00 Coffee break

Session IV. Multinational studies and international surveillance activities (11:15-11:55)

• 11:00-11:15 CDC estimates of influenza-associated morbidity and mortality (William Thompson, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US)
• 11:15-11:35 The mortality impact of pandemic influenza: 1918, 1957, and 1968 (Lone Simonsen, PhD, NIAID, NIH)
• 11:35-11:55 Multinational mortality impact: Comparing the 1968 pandemic and 1951 epidemic (Cecile Viboud, PhD, Fogarty International Center)
• 11:55-12:25 Influenza Virus Surveillance Efforts by the US Department of Defense: A Unique "System of Systems" (COL. Ralph L. Erickson, MD, MPH, DrPH; Kelly G. Vest, DVM, MPH, DrPH; Jose L. Sanchez, MD, MPH, DOD/GEIS)
• 12:25-12:45 Questions

• 12:45-1:45 Lunch break
  

Section V. Influenza genomics and molecular epidemiology (1:45-3:00)

• 1:45-2:05 US - Overview of the NIH genomic sequencing project and insights gained to date (Lone Simonsen, PhD, NIH)
• 2:05-2:25 Evolutionary genetics of the influenza virus; lessons learned from sequencing studies (Laura Shackleton, PhD, The Pennsylvania State University)
• 2:25-2:45 Brazil - Plans for an influenza genomics effort (Paolo Zanotto, PhD, Viral Genetics Diversity Network, University of São Paulo)
• 2:45-3:00 Questions

• 3:00-3:30 Coffee break
  

Session VI. Vaccine issues (3:30-4:30)

• 3:30-3:45 Influenza vaccine manufacturing capabilities in Latin America (Isaias Raw, PhD, Director of the Center of Biotechnology, Instituto Butantan, Brazil)
• 3:45:4:00 Global circulation of influenza viruses and recommendations for vaccine composition in the Northern and Southern hemispheres (Stephanie Richard, MHS, NIH Fogarty International Center)
• 4:40-4:15 Update on the Status of Influenza Vaccination in the Region of the Americas (Alba Maria Ropero Alvarez, Acting Chief, Immunization Unit, PAHO)
• 4:15-4:30 Questions

Session VII. Closing (4:30-5:00)

• 4:30-5:00 Further steps to collaboration, Charge to the next days workshop (Mark Miller, MD, NIH Fogarty International Center, US)

Days 3-5 - February 7-9, 2007 (full days)

Section VII. Workshops led by Cecile Viboud, Mark Miller, Lone Simonsen, Wladimir Alonso, Laura Shackleton, and others

Hands-on workshops to analyze national data for epidemiologists/virologists interested in influenza disease burden, assessments of control, and evolution of influenza viruses based on national influenza data. Participants will have the opportunity to learn and apply tools to analyze national datasets and formulate further collaborations on bi-national and multinational studies

It is strongly recommended that participants in the workshop bring:
- a laptop with some type of statistical software (SAS recommended) and Microsoft Excel
- an influenza dataset (vital statistics data, influenza isolate data, and vaccine coverage)

Individuals who attend to workshop will have the opportunity to learn about:
- time series analysis
- spatial/temporal relationships
- influenza genomics tools
- data management issues
- SAS code - go home with your own programs
- strategies for evaluating vaccine benefits in a country using mortality data

The MISMS protocol is available upon request. Interested individuals who do not have a laptop, statistical software, and/or influenza datasets are encouraged to contact Fogarty International Center (email address below) to discuss the available options.