Influenza Virus Gap Analysis Workshop,

The Influenza Virus Gap Analysis Workshop reviewed the current state of knowledge on animal influenza, the gaps in our knowledge and where future research should be focused.  The meeting was held in the light of more than 3000 outbreaks of H5N1 strain of the virus in poultry in dozens of countries, and more than 77 million poultry culled since last October, as well as numerous outbreaks and deaths in wild birds.

The workshop was organized jointly by USDA ARS, National  Centers for Animal Health, and STAR-IDAZ IRC, and held in Ames Iowa, and had over 60 participants from ARS, APHIS, industry, academia, and from international centres. The workshop used the review on influenza viruses, commissioned by STAR-IDAZ in 2021, to  help the discussions on gaps in the knowledge. A number of international experts who could not attend the meeting supplied their views through a questionnaire sent to them before the meeting. the main focus was on the diease in poultry and in swine, though influenza in other species including horses and dogs were considered.

The outcomes of the workshop, and the questionnaires will be will be used to to update the gap analysis report that was last published in 2018.