A Report From OPTIONS XII — International Society for Influenza and Other Respiratory Virus Diseases

It has been 2 weeks since I returned from OPTIONS XII (September 29 – October 2, 2024 — Brisbane, Queensland, Australia: https://www.optionsxii2024.org.uk/), an international conference focusing on influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and other respiratory virus infections. My small research team had five accepted abstracts dealing with estimates of household transmission, effects of public health measures during the pandemics, general respiratory virus epidemiology in school-aged children, and comparisons of surveillance methods. Accordingly, we traveled Down Under for this information-packed, 4-day meeting. 

The keynote speaker on day one was Jeremy Farrar, Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization, who emphasized the primacy of a global One Health approach toward influenza as well as what is essential about any large scientific meeting is what we do after we leave. We were also treated to a delightful talk by Australia’s Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty, who among other things, reminded the audience — and noting his elder years — that science advances by funerals. 

Amidst the multiple talks on genomic evolution, vaccine development, and use of antivirals was the stark reporting of the rapid global expansion of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1). This virus has affected wild bird populations, poultry, a wide variety of mammals (including some devastating effects on seals and sea lions in South America), and recent spillover into dairy cattle, domestic cats, and humans. Again, woven into this avian and mammalian pandemic were the themes of One Health, food security, and the need for public education, especially considering the abundance of anti-science disinformation.

This post–COVID-19-pandemic meeting was overshadowed by the concern of a future influenza pandemic. The underlying question, inevitably, was whether we should be worried. The answer is “yes.” When it comes to the potential future of influenza, the following take-home points were repeatedly made:

• Influenza has an amazing knack for evolving
• Global surveillance is required
• Communication is vital
• Inequity — if existing before a pandemic — only becomes amplified and can amplify pandemics
• The connection among humans, agriculture, wild species, and environment needs constant consideration

In the days since my return, I see that the number of US cases of influenza A(H5N1) has grown to 27  (https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/index.html).