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The Hong Kong Flu Conference

 

 

 

# 4870

 

Robert Webster Warns of Complacency

 

 

Friday marked the beginning of a 5-day International Options For The Control of Influenza (VII) conference being held in Hong Kong.

 

Organized this year by such notables as Dr. Malik Peiris, Dr. Yi Guan, and Dr. Gavin Smith of the University of Hong Kong, the roster of speakers is a veritable who’s who in the world of influenza research.

 

Conference Program

 

During the first morning session attendees heard from such familiar names as Malik Peiris, York Chow, Kennedy Shortridge, Daniel Jernigan, Sherif Zaki and perhaps the most famous of all, Dr. Robert Webster.

 

Robert G. Webster is regarded as the father of influenza virology, having correctly posited 5 decades ago that human flu's are derived from avian flu strains.

 

Webster holds the Rose Marie Thomas Chair in Virology at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and is also a fellow of the Royal Society of London, the Royal Society of Medicine and the Royal Society of New Zealand, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States.

 

Now in his late-70s, Dr. Webster continues his research at St. Judes Research Hospital, which has been named one of  six Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a part of the National Institutes of Health.

 

Today the Associated Press is carrying a story out of this influenza conference which includes some sideline comments from Dr. Webster and others. 

 

Expert warns of complacency after swine flu fizzle

By MIN LEE (AP)

 

In it Webster is quoted as saying, "We may think we can relax and influenza is no longer a problem. I want to assure you that that is not the case."

 

Webster also predicted that the next pandemic could easily arise from a virus that moves from waterfowl to swine, and then to humans.

 

A prime candidate he fears is H5N1 -  although he cautions that we can’t say when - or if – that might happen.

 

You’ll find other quotes from Webster, along with statements by Malik Peiris and the head of WHO’s global influenza program, Sylvie Briand on future pandemic threats, and on the pandemic just past.  

 

Follow the link to read the article in its entirety.

 

Hopefully the next few days will provide us with a stream of reports out of this conference.

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H5N1
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