ABOUT OFFLU

Overview

Vision

The animal health community will provide early recognition and characterisation of emerging influenza viral strains in animal populations, and effective management of known infections, thereby better managing the risk to human health and supporting global food security, animal health and welfare, and other community benefits derived from domestic animals and wildlife.

Objectives

  • To share and offer technical advice, training and veterinary expertise to international organizations and Member Countries to assist in the prevention, diagnosis, surveillance and control of animal influenza.
  • To exchange scientific data and biological materials (including virus strains) within the network, to analyse such data, and to share such information with the wider scientific community. 
  • To collaborate with the WHO on issues relating to the animal-human interface, including pandemic preparedness for early preparation of human vaccine. 
  • To highlight influenza surveillance and research needs, promote their development and co-ordination.

What We Do

Global Expertise

Strengthen links between influenza experts in the animal and human health sectors by facilitating collaboration and coordinated exchanges of useful data and material

Technical Guidance

Develop documents, recommendations, and tools for prevention, surveillance, and control of animal influenza.

Surveillance Advocacy

Advocate sharing of important virological and surveillance data with the wider scientific community, so that it can be used to inform surveillance programmes and control strategies.

Capacity building

Enhance capacity through training and involvement of professionals from less developed countries with experts from the network.

Organisation

Current OFFLU Committee Members

Marcela Uhart (OFFLU Chair)

Chair, OFFLU Steering Committee
Professor, University of California, Davis

ARGENTINA

Erik Karlsson (Chair: Avian influenza)

Vice Chair, OFFLU Steering Committee
Head of Virology Unit, Institut Pasteur du Cambodge

CAMBODIA

Timm Harder

Member, OFFLU Steering Committee
Laboratory Head, Friedrich Loeffler Institut (FLI)

GERMANY

Marie Culhane

Member, OFFLU Steering Committee
Retired Professor of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Clement Meseko

Member, OFFLU Steering Committee
Head of Animal Influenza Division and Director of Infectious & Transboundary Animal Diseases, National Veterinary Research Institute

NIGERIA

Technical Activity Chairs

Avian Influenza

Erik Karlsson (Chair: Avian influenza)

Head of Virology Unit, Institut Pasteur du Cambodge

CAMBODIA

Avian Influenza

Frank Wong (Co-Chair: Avian influenza)

Senior Research Scientist, Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP)

AUSTRALIA

Swine Influenza

Amy Baker (Chair: Swine influenza/ Swine VCM Lead)

Lead Scientist, USDA ARS National Animal Disease Center

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Swine Influenza

Chiara Chiapponi (Co-chair: Swine influenza)

Senior Scientist, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna (IZSLER)

ITALY

Equine Influenza

Manabu Nemoto (Chair: Equine influenza)

Chief Researcher, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association (JRA)

JAPAN

Wildlife

Thijs Kuiken (Co-Chair: Wildlife)

Principal Investigator, Erasmus MC

NETHERLANDS

Wildlife

Andrew Breed (Co-Chair: Wildlife)

Lead Epidemiologist, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

AUSTRALIA

Applied Epidemiology

Guillaume Fournie (Chair: Applied Epidemiology)

Junior Professor Chair, National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE)

FRANCE

Socioeconomics

Robyn Alders (Chair: Socioeconomics)

Honorary Professor, Australian National University

AUSTRALIA

Socioeconomics

Mehroosh Tak (Co-Chair: Socioeconomics)

Senior Lecturer, Royal Veterinary College (RVC)

UNITED KINGDOM

Avian Influenza Matching

Prof Ashley Banyard

Head of Avian Virology workgroup, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)

UNITED KINGDOM

Vaccine Composition Meeting

Francesco Bonfante (Avian VCM lead)

Head of the Laboratory, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe)

ITALY

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Meetings
Resources

Guidelines

Practical guide for authorised field responders to HPAI outbreaks in marine mammals with a focus on biosecurity, sample collection for virus detection and carcass disposal

Reports

These reports provide valuable insights into the epidemiology of the disease, risk factors for zoonotic transmission, and strategies for prevention and control.

Position Statements

Meeting play a crucial role in documenting the progress and outcomes of OFFLU’s meetings, ensuring that key information is recorded and shared with relevant stakeholders.

Testing

It involves various methods to assess the presence of pathogens in animals and humans, identify potential transmission routes, and inform public health measures.

FAQ

OFFLU is a network of expertise on animal influenza established jointly in 2005 by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to support and coordinate global efforts to prevent, detect and control influenzas in animals.

OFFLU network comprises FAO/WOAH Reference Centres and world-leading experts across various disciplines, including diagnostics, epidemiology (classic and molecular), virology, animal production, veterinary medicine, and vaccinology. This multidisciplinary team collaborates to address animal influenza globally. 

  • Developing technical guidance, tools, and recommendations for prevention, surveillance, and control.
  • Facilitating the sharing of virological and surveillance data to inform control strategies and early human vaccine preparation (AIM and VCM reports).
  • Promoting collaboration between animal and human health experts to ensure coordinated action.
  • Enhancing capacity through training and involvement of professionals from less developed countries with experts from the network.
  • Identifying research priorities and enabling technical discussions to advance scientific understanding and preparedness.

OFFLU participates in WHO VCM and contributes animal influenza data on 6 monthly basis for pandemic preparedness. WHO also participates as an observer in OFFLU activities, fostering collaboration between human and animal health sectors.

Message from Prof Ian Brown, Past OFFLU Chair - Understanding the OFFLU Network

Stay Ahead with the Situation Report

The Situation Report provides timely updates and insights into the current state of animal health worldwide.