Influenza (Pandemic)

General Information

Global outbreak that appears when a new flu A virus emerges to which most of the population does not have immunity and is spreading from individual to individual in an efficient and sustained way.

Transmission

Influenza viruses spread from person to person, primarily through respiratory droplets.

Symptoms

General symptoms are generally localised to the respiratory tract and include nonproductive cough, fever, headache, malaise, muscle aches, rhinitis and sore throat.

Epidemiology

Previous influenza pandemics caused a significant number of deaths, not only among those at risk of complications, but also in healthy individuals:

  • 1918: around 50 million deaths.
  • 1957 and 1968: around 2 million deaths
  • 2009 H1N1: over 500,000 deaths

Vaccines Pipeline

5
Vaccines in
the pipeline

TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS

mRNA (4)
Whole-inactivated virus (1)

DEVELOPMENT PHASES

Phase I (3)
Phase II (2)

TRIAL POPULATION

Adults (2)
Adults + Older Adults (3)

Sources:
Pandemic Influenza. 2023. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/.
Pandemic influenza: a threat that all countries need to prepare for. Available from: https://www.who.int/europe/emergencies/emergency-cycle/prepare/pandemic-influenza.
[Accessed: August 2024]