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Influenza is an acute viral infection that spreads easily from person to person. It circulates worldwide causing epidemics, and it can affect anybody in any age group. In addition to seasonal epidemics, influenza pandemics can occur when a new influenza virus subtype emerges.

In line with two of the priority actions outlined in the European health policy Health 2020 – tackling major challenges of communicable diseases and strengthening emergency preparedness, surveillance and response – the Influenza and other Respiratory Pathogens (IRP) Programme at WHO/Europe, works on the following objectives in the European Region:

• strengthening virological and epidemiological surveillance for mild and severe influenza;
• using surveillance data to estimate the burden of influenza in order to prioritize national influenza vaccination programmes; and
• maintaining and strengthening pandemic preparedness activities at the national level.

Other respiratory pathogens

The Programme also monitors the emergence of other pathogens that have the potential to spread among humans. These include coronaviruses, which cause a range of illnesses from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) to the common cold.