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13th April BioBreakfast: The 'Boy Who Cried Wolf'?
2010 Flu Update Event Description
| When: |
Tuesday 13th April 2010 Registration 7.15am Buffet Breakfast 7.20 - 7.55am Presentation 8am sharp Concludes at 9am |
|---|---|
| Where: |
CSIRO Clayton Campus Auditorium Bayview Cresent, inside the Monash University Gate |
| Speakers: |
Professor Paul Hertzog Dr Michael Greenberg |
| Price: |
BioMelbourne Network members: $55.00 Non members: $88.00 Prices include GST |
| RSVP: | Thursday 8th April, 5pm |
About This Event
208 countries with confirmed cases of H1N1 and 13,544 deaths recorded to date. Children hospitalised at twice the rate of adults. Declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in June 2009 to be the first influenza pandemic in 40 years.
Data from the northern winter suggests the virus has not spread as predicted nor mutated as first feared. Yet the WHO in January warned that the threat remains. Australian's have been urged to take up the free vaccinations before the flu season begins, yet we seem reluctant to do so. Why? Why have more children been affected? Why do some people seem immune? Is there clinical data for children and pregnant women?
The April BioBreakfast features Dr Michael Greenberg, Director of vaccine clinical development at CSL and Prof Paul Hertzog, Monash Institute for Medical Research will address these questions.
Dr Greenberg will discuss the extraordinary speed and process of the H1N1 vaccine development at CSL last year and where we are now in terms of vaccine uptake by the public. As an epidemiologist with particular experience in influenza and a paediatrician, Dr Greenberg will also answer questions about clinical data, dosing and the threat of a third wave this winter in Australia.
Professor Paul Hertzog, Director of the Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases at the Monash Institute for Medical Research will discuss the findings of his latest research into being able to predict an individuals' response to infection and vaccination against H1N1. His group has researched the nature of the early, innate immune response, where the body initially unleashes proteins to fight the virus. Professor Hertzog's team has also compared the documented response to Spanish influenza. Professor Hertzog's investigation seeks to address questions such as: why some people get more severe flu symptoms than others, which vaccination approaches are effective and how we can control these reactions with new drugs.
As we approach the anniversary of the first cases of H1N1 declared in Mexico last April, the world health authorities, governments and pharma companies have learnt a lot about influenza, rapid vaccine development, the geographic spread of disease and the word -'pandemic'.
Did the WHO and the Centre for Disease Control Influenza in Atlanta 'cry wolf'? The declaration of a 'pandemic' generated an unprecedented reaction - was it justified, did it assist in the rapid development of vaccines for the pharma industry and did it demand the appropriate response from governments and the public?
About the Speakers
Dr. Greenberg began his medical career as a paediatrician following training at the University of California, San Francisco where he subsequently joined the academic faculty. After moving into a public health role in the San Francisco Bay Area, he pursued a second qualification in Public Health and Preventive Medicine with a specialization in epidemiology.
Following experience in a local health department, Dr. Greenberg moved to Atlanta where he served as an Officer in the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His work at CDC focused on sexually transmitted infections as well as influenza.
Dr. Greenberg joined GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals in Rixensart, Belgium in 2005 as an epidemiologist where he conducted research in several areas of infectious disease, with an emphasis on both seasonal and pandemic influenza.
Dr. Greenberg joined CSL in 2009 as Director of Clinical Development for vaccines.
Event Location
CSIRO Clayton Campus Auditorium
Bayview Cresent, inside the Monash University Gate
