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The influenza virus changes constantly. Virological and disease surveillance is crucial to determine the impact of the disease and identify the circulating strains.

Member States collect data on: 

• the epidemiology and virology of seasonal epidemics; 
• outbreaks of avian influenza in animals and humans; and 
• outbreaks of other influenza viruses with pandemic potential.

WHO/Europe, in coordination with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, conducts surveillance of seasonal influenza in the Region and publishes a weekly regional bulletin on seasonal influenza in English and Russian. The bulletin contains epidemiological and virological data from the countries in the European Region that report their influenza surveillance data to EuroFlu. The data are collected by clinicians' networks and laboratory networks, consisting primarily of WHO-recognized national influenza centres (NICs).

The regional surveillance network also participates in the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance Network (GISN), mainly through the 50 NICs in 39 European countries. Data and viruses are submitted through the NICs and the surveillance focal points to one of the four global WHO collaborating centres for reference and research on influenza (for the European Region, the centre is located in the United Kingdom). This enables WHO to recommend the composition of the influenza vaccine for the following season, which it does twice a year, for the northern and southern hemispheres. In addition, the collaborating centres determine patterns of antiviral susceptibility of circulating strains and update reagents. GISN also acts as a global alert mechanism for the appearance of influenza viruses with pandemic potential.