Influenza vaccination of healthcare workers, oseltamivir resistance and prepandemic vaccination.

Since the Second European Influenza Conference in 2005, the field of influenza research has advanced immensely. The main topics discussed were the possible mandatory vaccination of healthcare workers against seasonal influenza, the oseltamivir resistance, the pandemic and prepandemic vaccination strategies and the mathematical modeling of a pandemic. A key discussion was on the efficacy of seasonal vaccination of the elderly. Young scientists presented promising work on influenza transmission in the guinea pig model, the pathogenicity of the re-engineered 1918 Spanish Flu influenza virus and the global migration routes of influenza viruses.