Conference: Options for the Control of Influenza VI

This was the website for the Options for the Control of Influenza VI Conference held in Toronto in 2007.
Content is from the site's archived pages.

 

Background

For over 20 years, the Options conference has been the premier meeting on influenza, providing a forum for scientists and policy makers from diverse disciplines working towards global control and prevention of influenza.

Since the inaugural Options conference in 1985, Options meetings were held in 1992 (Courchevel, France), 1996 (Cairns, Australia), 2000 (Crete, Greece), and 2003 (Okinawa, Japan). We are pleased to announce that Options VI will be held in 2007 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Each Options conference has grown in size, and with the current interest in influenza pandemic preparedness, we anticipate that the 2007 conference will draw the largest attendance yet. As an international city, Toronto offers the perfect venue to host this large gathering of scientists from around the world to participate in a conference exclusively devoted to all aspects of influenza from basic science to healthcare policy.

The key objective of Options VI is to showcase the most recent advances in influenza research, control, prevention, and treatment. Options VI will provide a forum for information exchange among scientists from academia, clinical research, government, and industry to enhance progress against this challenging adversary.

 

Program Objectives

The key objectives of Options VI include:

  • Provide comprehensive, state-of-the-art scientific information for all disciplines involved in influenza prevention, control, and treatment, including seasonal and pandemic planning
  • Promote genuine international and multidisciplinary collaboration supporting the full spectrum of influenza research, from basic science, to the development of new vaccines and antiviral agents, to epidemiology and control programs
  • Provide a collegial atmosphere within which scientists working in public health and scientists working in agricultural or veterinary agencies may exchange information to develop collaborative approaches to the control and prevention of pandemic influenza
  • Maximize the opportunities for informal discussions and exchange of ideas between representatives of government agencies, academia, and industry

 

Options for the Control of Influenza VI

June 17-23, 2007  Toronto Ontario Canada

 

Welcome Letter from the Conference Chair

Options for the Control of Influenza has grown from a small scientific symposium in 1985 to what is today the largest international conference exclusively devoted to influenza, and covering every imaginable topic from basic science to healthcare policy. Whatever your domain of expertise€”science, veterinary medicine, human medicine, public health policy,

industry, or the media€”your insights are needed to meet the challenges of a single threat: influenza.

Expanding the depth and breadth of previous Options, this meeting will provide comprehensive scientific guidance for all disciplines involved in influenza prevention, control, and treatment, including seasonal and pandemic planning. We recognize the critical importance of communicating these issues in an understandable way to those outside a given area of expertise, and are especially interested in fostering interdisciplinary conversations among all participants, including members of the media.

As we are all too well aware, influenza prevention, control, and treatment present formidable challenges for global healthcare and research. This perennial adversary exacts an enormous toll in terms of its morbidity, mortality, and economic burden; consequently, we eagerly anticipate presentations about new vaccines and treatments for influenza. Options VI provides a forum for the international collaboration that is essential to the timely detection and control of new influenza strains. As influenza A (H5N1) and other viruses continue their seemingly inexorable advance, the need for comprehensive, effective pandemic planning has never been more urgent.

To address these needs, Options VI presentations and session topics have been designed to maximize the opportunities for informal discussions and exchange of ideas between representatives of government agencies, academia, and industry. Presentation formats will include keynote addresses, state-of-the-art lectures, invited lectures, scientific workshops, oral

abstract presentations, satellite symposia, and poster sessions. To further stimulate conversation, we have augmented the scientific program with a rich variety of cultural and culinary activities in and around Toronto.

The key objectives of Options VI include:

€¢ Provide comprehensive, state-of-the-art scientific information for all disciplines involved in influenza prevention, control,

and treatment, including seasonal and pandemic planning

€¢ Promote genuine international and multidisciplinary collaboration supporting the full spectrum of influenza research,

from basic science, to the development of new vaccines and antiviral agents, to epidemiology and control programs

€¢ Provide a collegial atmosphere within which scientists working in public health and scientists working in agricultural or

veterinary agencies may exchange information to develop collaborative approaches to the control and prevention of

pandemic influenza

€¢ Maximize the opportunities for informal discussions and exchange of ideas between representatives of government

agencies, academia, and industry

€¢ Knowledge is power: your participation in Options VI will provide up-to-the-minute access to comprehensive

information and key authorities spanning the full extent of influenza research, prevention, control, and treatment.

On behalf of both the organizing committee and the scientific program committee, I sincerely thank you for your participation,

Nancy J Cox, PhD
Conference Chair
Chief, Influenza Branch
Director, WHO Collaborating Center for Epidemiology and Control of Influenza
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
June 17-23, 2007 €¢ Toronto, Ontario, Canada

 



 

Options for the Control of Influenza VI Conference summary

Published online 2007 Oct 22.
Jacqueline Katz, Theresa Turski, and Ann Moen

In June 2007, Toronto, ON, Canada was the site of the Options for the Control of Influenza VI Conference, an international scientific forum exclusively devoted to influenza. Since its inception in 1985, the Options series of meetings, held every 3€“4€ƒyears, have continued to grow in scope and size. The Options VI Conference was the largest in the series to date, with 1600 delegates from over 66 countries in attendance. While half of the delegates came from North America, just over 40% were from Europe and Asia, with the remaining delegates coming from South America, Oceania, the Middle East and Africa. This record attendance reflects the expanded interest in influenza, in part because of the continuing circulation of highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses, and ongoing pandemic preparedness efforts. Dr David Heymann, Assistant Director€General of the World Health Organization, Communicable Diseases, opened the Conference with a keynote address that focused on the newly revised International Health Regulations that have been updated to ensure that any international public health concerns are rapidly detected and managed in today€™s highly mobile and interconnected world. The welcome reception on Sunday evening was held in the main ball room of the historic Fairmont Royal York Hotel. Guests were greeted with welcome addresses from Canadian Health Officials and dined on epicurean delights prepared by the Fairmont€™s world€renowned chefs.

The Scientific program included 30 invited international experts in public health and basic research who presented their state€of€the€art knowledge on influenza. A new feature of the Options meetings was the morning Translational Sessions designed to provide meeting participants with a broad understanding of concepts and issues in public health, the latest advances in basic or clinical research, and their application for the control and prevention of influenza. Topics included communicating science to the public, molecular targets for antiviral drugs, immunity and pandemic vaccines, effective use of mathematical models in influenza research and pandemic preparedness, and clinical and pathologic findings and treatment options for human H5N1 virus infections. Translational Sessions were followed by Plenary Sessions, showcasing recent advances in epidemiology or basic research in a specific field of interest. Plenary Session topics included discussions on the international challenges for pandemic preparedness and response in both developed and developing nations, virus structure, replication and receptor€binding, the control of influenza in animals, and interactions of the virus and the host including the molecular basis of virulence and transmissibility. Translational and Plenary Session presentations can be viewed until June, 2008 at http://www.controlinfluenza.com/.

The core information of the meeting was delivered through over 600 abstracts submitted to 14 workshop categories, presented in either oral or poster form that encompassed every aspect of influenza surveillance, epidemiology and research. Afternoon workshops ran in parallel with public health and basic/applied science tracks. Public health track topics included disease surveillance, developments in diagnostics and serological techniques, clinical vaccine evaluation, antivirals and resistance, and clinical guidance and policies. Two new public health track topics covered in the expanded Options VI workshop sessions were included to reflect the ongoing outbreak and pre€pandemic responses to avian influenza worldwide, and growing interest in the use of mathematical modeling to predict virus evolution and spread or guide control efforts. Basic/applied science track topics included structure/function and receptor€binding, replication and assembly, animal influenza ecology, genetic and antigenic evolution, innate and adaptive immunity, virus€“host interactions and pathogenesis, and preclinical vaccines and other intervention strategies. A book of the Options VI proceedings will be available in January 2008. Complementing the information provided by invited speakers and abstract presenters in the Options VI scientific program were the daily morning satellite symposia sponsored by industry and presenting the latest information on control measures for seasonal and pandemic influenza.

Some of the information highlights provided by the meeting included the prevalence of influenza antiviral drug resistant viruses in different countries, the evaluation of new vaccine methodologies including novel adjuvants, particularly for pandemic vaccines, the expansion of global surveillance and pandemic preparedness efforts, advances in understanding of receptor€binding of human and avian influenza viruses and their role in influenza virulence and transmissibility, and the role of the PB1€F2 protein, discovered by Jonathan Yewdell and colleagues in 2001, in influenza virus pathogenesis.

While the focus of Options VI was the science of influenza, conference participants were able to enjoy a variety of social and cultural offerings courtesy of their Canadian hosts. Monday and Tuesday evening cocktail sessions offered a casual forum to highlight approximately 500 posters which covered the 14 workshop topics. On Wednesday afternoon, midway through the conference, participants sojourned to the natural and awesome beauty of Niagara Falls, where they enjoyed the magnificence of the waterfalls and surrounding municipal area. A Canadian barbeque was the theme for the final social event, providing attendees the opportunity to wind down after the intense week of in€depth scientific sessions as they feasted on seared meats and a myriad of tempting side dishes. These social activities, juxtaposed against the comprehensive Options VI scientific program provided a balanced and enriching experience for meeting participants.

ISIRV is now the official €˜home€™ of the Options for the Control of Influenza Conference Series, and will play a major role in the development of the Options VII Conference scheduled for 2010.

 



 

Here & now: The 2007 conference provided an intense amount of core information when you consider that over 600 abstracts that encompassed every aspect of influenza surveillance, epidemiology and research were submitted to 14 workshop categories and presented in either oral or poster form. There was a variety of social and cultural offerings courtesy of our Canadian hosts. But every night I would crash in my hotel room as soon as I checked my emails and called to say goodnight to my kids who were staying with my parents. One evening my older daughter asked if I would buy a dog bed. I was confused since we didn't have a dog when I left for the conference. It turns out that they had found a lovely stray dog which my parents were keeping until I arrived home. I asked my daughter that she send me some pics of the dog and I would consider. After a friend recommended this amazing dog bed website, I then went online looking for "dog bed from GoodNightDog.com". They offer round beds made with upscale upholstery fabric to match one's decor. I liked the concept. I called my parents to get their take on the dog. It had been well trained and was sweet and friendly according to my mother. I said I would decide when I arrived home in a couple of days. In the meantime I ordered two dog beds, one in a toile fabric that matched my living room and the other in a floral that would look good in any of the bedrooms. I smile as I laid down to sleep that night, knowing when I arrived home, the dog would be already part of the family.

 



 

 

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