Call for a European influenza research network

Influenza is one of the biggest global health threats - four of the last six pandemics have been caused by influenza viruses. The current H5N1 outbreak reinforces the urgency of a rapid, coordinated scientific response.

In a commentary in the renowned journal The Lancet, leading influenza experts, including Prof. Dr. Gülşah Gabriel (Head of the Leibniz Lab Pandemic Preparedness and the LIV Research Department Viral Zoonoses - One Health), call for the sustainable promotion of a European network for influenza research and response. They emphasize the need for closer cooperation between science and politics in order to be better prepared for future pandemics.

The article refers to the successful model of the Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (CEIRR) in the USA. This network, funded by the National Institutes of Health, was able to respond quickly to the current H5N1 situation and provided essential data for political decisions. Europe, on the other hand, has a strong research landscape, but funding programs are often fragmented and limited to short-term, non-renewable cycles. A long-term funded, coordinated network based on the CEIRR model would significantly strengthen Europe's ability to combat pandemics.

A sustainable European network for influenza research is essential in order to respond to new infectious diseases with scientific excellence and strategic coordination and to be able to take effective pandemic responses. 

The authors call on European research funders and political decision-makers - in particular the EU Commission and national governments - to create a European equivalent to CEIRR. In view of the immense economic costs of past pandemics, which run into the trillions, this investment is not only scientifically but also economically overdue.

Link to the article:

 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(25)00068-4/fulltext