Timeline of influenza

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This is a timeline of influenza, briefly describing major events such as outbreaks, epidemics, pandemics, discoveries and developments of vaccines. In addition to specific year/period-related events, there's the seasonal flu that kills between 250,000 and 500,000 people every year, and has claimed between 340 million and 1 billion human lives throughout history.

Sample questions

The following are some interesting questions that can be answered by reading this timeline:

• What are some notable outbreaks of influenza recorded throughout history?
  • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Epidemic".
  • You will see oubreaks notable by their magnitude, like big epidemics and pandemics, or by the novelty of the influenza virus strain.
• What are some notable outbreaks affecting non-human animals?
  • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Epizootic".
• What are some events describing notable infections on individuals (both human and non-human) that do not develop into epidemics or epizootics?
  • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Infection case".
  • You will mainly see the emergence of a specific strain detected in individuals.
• What are some events describing discoveries or first isolations of new influenza virus types?
  • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Virus type discovery".
  • You will see events describing discoveries of new types of flu virus in both humans and non-humans.
• What are some significant events describing research on influenza in the different fields of science?
  • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Research".
  • For research in virology, look for the group of rows with value "Research (virology)". The same can be applied for research in epidemiology and other fields, clarified between parentheses.
• What are some significant events describing the medical development progress on treating and preventing influenza?
  • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Medical development".
  • For specific development of vaccines, look for the group of rows with value "Medical development (vaccine)".
• What are the several influenza vaccine recommendations issued by important organizations?
  • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Vaccine recommendation".
  • You will see a number of recommendations, like those by WHO for both Northern and Southern hemispheres starting from 1998.
• What are some notable publications authored by experts and/or organizations concerning influenza?
  • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Publication".
  • You will see publications about influenza in different fields, including virology and epidemiology, as well as numerous guidelines produced by the World Health Organization.
• Other events are described under the following types: "Alternative medicine", "Policy", "Prevalence", "Program shutdown", "Public opinion", "Service launch", and "System launch", "Testing", "Tool launch", "Website launch".

Big Picture

Year/period	Key developments	Details
400 BCE onward	Post first description era	This period marks the existence of influenza as a disease since its first description by Greek physician Hippocrates.
1510 onward	Post first pandemic description era	This period begins with the first recognition of pandemic influenza, giving birth to a five centuries period of documented influenza pandemics.
1930s onward	Modern medical development era	Period marking an accelerating time of scientific and medical development including the discovery of the influenza virus in both non-humans (1931) and humans (1933), as well as the first influenza vaccine (1936). After the end of World War II, international health organizations merge, and large scale vaccination campaigns begin.
21th century	Present time	Today, worldwide accessible databases multiply in order to control outbreaks and prevent pandemics. New influenza strain outbreaks still occur. Efficacy of currently available vaccines is still insufficient to diminish the current annual health burden induced by the virus.

Full timeline

Year/period	Strain	Species	Type of event	Event	Geographical location
400 BCE			Medical development	The symptoms of human influenza are described by Hippocrates.
1173			Epidemic	The first epidemic where symptoms are probably influenza, is reported.
1357		Human	Medical development	The term influenza is first used to describe a disease prevailing in 1357. It would be applied again to the epidemic in 1386−1387.	Italy
1386–1387		Human	Epidemic	Influenza-like illness epidemic develops in Europe, preferentially killing elderly and debilitating persons. This is probably the first documentation of a key epidemiological feature of both pandemic and seasonal influenza.	Europe
1411		Human	Epidemic	Epidemic of coughing disease associated with spontaneous abortions is noted in Paris.	France
1510		Human	Epidemic	Influenza pandemic invades Europe from Africa in the summer of 1510 and proceedes northward to involve all of Europe and then the Baltic States. Attack rates are extremely high, but fatality is low and said to be restricted to young children. This is the first recognition of pandemic influenza.	Africa, Europe
1557–1558		Human	Epidemic	The first influenza pandemic in which global involvement and westward spread from Asia to Europe is documented. Unlike the previous pandemic from 1510, this one is highly fatal, with deaths recorded as being due to "pleurisy and fatal peripneumony". High mortality in pregnant women is also recorded.	Eurasia
1580		Human	Epidemic	Influenza pandemic originates in Asia during the summer, spreading to Africa, and then to Europe along two corridors from Asia Minor and North-West Africa. Illness rates are high. 8000 deaths are reported in Rome, and some Spanish cities are decimated.	Eurasia, Africa
1729		Human	Epidemic	Influenza pandemic originates in Russia, spreading westwards in expanding waves to embrace all Europe within six months. High death rates are reported.	Eurasia
1761–1762		Human	Epidemic	Influenza pandemic originates. Remarkably it is estimated to have begun in the Americas in the spring of 1761 and to have spread from there to Europe and around the globe in 1762. It is the first pandemic to be studied by multiple observers who communicate with each other in learned societies and through medical journals and books. Influenza is characterized clinically to a greater degree than it has been previously, as physicians carefully record observations on series of patients and attempt to understand what would later be called the pathophysiology of the disease.	Americas, Europe
1780–1782		Human	Epidemic	Influenza pandemic originates in Southeast Asia and spreads to Russia and eastward into Europe. It is remarkable for extremely high attack rates but negligible mortality. It appears that in this pandemic the concept of influenza as a distinct entity with characteristic epidemiological features is first appreciated.	Eurasia
1830–1833		Human	Epidemic	Influenza pandemic breaks out in the winter of 1830 in China, further spreading southwards by sea to reach the Philippines, India and Indonesia, and across Russia into Europe. By 1831, the epidemic reaches the Americas. Overall the attack rate is estimated at 20–25% of the population, but the mortality rate is not exceptionally high.	Eurasia, Americas
1878		Non-human (Avian)	Research	Avian influenza is recorded for the first time. Originally known as Fowl Plague.	Italy
1889–1892	H3N8? H2N2?	Human	Epidemic	1889–90 flu pandemic. Dubbed the "Russian pandemic". Attack rates are reported in 408 geographic entities from 14 European countries and in the United States. Rapidly spreading, the pandemic would take only 4 months to circumnavigate the planet, reaching the United States 70 days after the original outbreak in Saint Petersburg. Following this pandemic, interest is renewed in examining the recurrence patterns of influenza.	Eurasia, Americas
1901		Non-human (Avian)	Research	The causative organism of avian influenza is discovered to be a virus.
1918-1920	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Epidemic	The Spanish flu (H1N1) pandemic breaks out. As of the 21st century, it is considered one of the deadliest natural disasters ever, infecting an estimated 500 million people across the globe and claiming between 50 and 100 million lives. This pandemic would be described as "the greatest medical holocaust in history" and is estimated to have killed in a single year more people than the Black Death bubonic plague killed in four years from 1347 to 1351.	Worldwide; originated in France (disputed)
1931		Non-human (porcine)	Research	The real cause of the flu, the Influenza Virus, is discovered by American virologist Richard Shope, who finds the etiological cause of influenza in pigs.	United States
1933		Human	Research	British researchers Wilson Smith, Christopher Andrews, and Patrick Laidlaw are the first to identify the human flu virus by experimenting with ferrets.	United Kingdom
1936		Human	Medical development (vaccine)	Soviet scientist A. Smorodintseff conducts the first attempt of a vaccination with a live influenza vaccine that has been passed about 30-times in eggs. Smorodintseff would later report that the modified virus causes only a barely perceptible, slight fever and that subjects are protected against reinfection.	Russia
1942	Influenzavirus B	Human	Medical development (vaccine)	Bivalent vaccine is produced after the discovery of influenza B.
1945		Human	Medical development (vaccine)	The first license to produce an influenza vaccine for civilian use is granted in the United States.	United States
1946			Organization	The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in order to protect public health and safety through the control and prevention of diseases. The CDC would launch campaigns targeting the transmission of influenza.	United States (Atlanta)
1947			Organization	The World Medical Association (WMA) is formed as an international confederation of free professional medical associations. Like CDC, the WMA would launch Influenza Immunization Campaigns.	France (serves worldwide)
1948			Organization	The World Health Organization (WHO) is established.
1952			Organization (Research institute)	The Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) is established by the WHO with the purpose of conducting global influenza virological surveillance. GISRS monitors the evolution of influenza viruses and provides recommendations in areas including laboratory diagnostics, vaccines, antiviral susceptibility and risk assessment. It also serves as a global alert mechanism for the emergence of influenza viruses with pandemic potential.
1956		Non-human (equine)	Virus type discovery	Viruses that cause equine influenza are first isolated.
1957	H2N2	Human	Epidemic	New, virulent influenza A virus subtype H2N2 breaks out in Guizhou (China). It would turn into pandemic (category 2) and kill 1 to 4 million people. It is considered the second major influenza pandemic to occur in the 20th century, after the Spanish flu.	China
1959	H5N1	Non–human (avian)	Epizootic	Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 breaks out in Scotland and affects domestic chicken.	United Kingdom
1961	H5N1	Non–human (avian)	Virus type discovery	Avian Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 strain is found in birds in South Africa.	South Africa
1963	H7N3	Non–human (avian)	Epizootic	Influenza A virus subtype H7N3 breaks out in England and affects domestic turkeys.	United Kingdom
1966	H5N9	Non–human (avian)	Epizootic	Influenza A virus subtype H5N9 breaks out in Ontario and affects domestic turkeys.	Canada
1966			Medical development	The activity of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) against influenza is first suggested.
1968		Human	Research	Study of 1,900 male cadets after the 1968 Hong Kong A2 influenza epidemic at a South Carolina military academy, compares three groups: nonsmokers, heavy smokers, and light smokers. Compared with nonsmokers, heavy smokers (more than 20 cigarettes per day) had 21% more illnesses and 20% more bed rest, light smokers (20 cigarettes or fewer per day) had 10% more illnesses and 7% more bed rest.	United States
1968-1969	H3N2	Human	Epidemic	Hong Kong flu (H3N2) pandemic breaks out, caused by a virus that has been “updated” from the previously circulating virus by reassortment of avian genes.	Eurasia, North America
1973		Human	Program launch	The World Health Organization starts issuing annual recommendations for the composition of the influenza vaccine based on results from surveillance systems that would identify currently circulating strains.
1976	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Epidemic	Swine flu outbreak is identified at U.S. army base in Fort Dix, New Jersey. Four soldiers infected resulting in one death. To prevent a major pandemic, the United States launches a vaccination campaign.	United States (New Jersey)
1976	H7N7	Non–human (avian)	Epizootic	Influenza A virus subtype H7N7 breaks out in Victoria (Australia) and affects domestic chicken.	Australia
1976	Influenzavirus A	Human	Medical development	Symmetrel (amantadine) is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for preventing and treating infection caused by influenzavirus A.	United States
1977	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Epidemic	Russian flu (H1N1) epidemic. New influenza strain in humans. Isolated in northern China. A similar strain prevalent in 1947–57 causes most adults to have substantial immunity. This outbreak is not considered a pandemic because most patients are children.	Russia, China, worldwide
1978	Influenzavirus A, influenzavirus B	Human	Medical development (vaccine)	The first trivalent influenza vaccine is introduced. It includes two influenza A strains and one influenza B strain.
1979		Human	Research	Surveillance of an influenza outbreak at a military base for women in Israel reveals that influenza symptoms developed in 60.0% of the current smokers vs. 41.6% of the nonsmokers.	Israel
1980	Influenzavirus A, Influenzavirus B	Human	Medical development (vaccine)	United States FDA approves influenza vaccine Fluzone (Sanofi Pasteur), developed for A subtype viruses and type B virus contained in the vaccine.	United States
1982		Human	Research	Study concludes that smoking may substantially contribute to the growth of influenza epidemics affecting the entire population.
1983	H5N8	Non–human (avian)	Epizootic	Avian Influenza A virus subtype H5N8 breaks out. 8,000 turkeys, 28,020 chickens, and 270,000 ducks are slaughtered.	Ireland
1986			Publication	Medical geographer Gerald F. Pyle publishes The Diffusion of Influenza.
1988	Influenzavirus A (H1N2)	Human	Infection case	Influenza A virus subtype H1N2 is isolated from humans in six cities in China, but the virus does not spread further.	China
1990	Influenzavirus A, influenzavirus B	Human	Medical development	Relenza (zanamivir) is first licensed to GlaxoSmithKline.
1990-1996		Human	Medical development	Oseltamivir (often referenced by its trademark name Tamiflu) is developed by Gilead Sciences, using shikimic acid for synthesis. It would be widely used in further antiviral campaigns targeting influenza A and B. Included on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.	United States
1993		Human	Research	In a prospective study of community-dwelling people 60–90 years of age, it is found that 23% of smokers have clinical influenza as compared with 6% of non-smokers.
1993	Influenzavirus A	Human	Medical development	Flumadine (rimantadine) is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for preventing and treating infection caused by influenzavirus A.	United States
1997	Influenzavirus A (H5N1)	Human	Infection case	Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 (also known as bird flu) is discovered in humans. The first time an influenza virus is found to be transmitted directly from birds to people. Eighteen people hospitalized, six of whom die. Hong Kong kills its entire poultry population of about 1.5 million birds. No pandemic develops.	China (Hong Kong)
1997	H7N4	Avian	Epizootic	Highly pathogenic Influenza A virus subtype H7N4 strain causes a minor flu outbreak in chicken in Australia.	Australia
1997		Human	System launch	FluNet is launched as a global web-based tool for influenza virological surveillance.
1997		Human	Medical development	A randomized clinical trial finds that volunteers taking 1.2 grams of N-acetylcysteine daily for six months are as likely as those taking placebo to be infected by influenza, but only 25% of them experience clinical symptoms, as contrasted with 67% of the control group. The authors conclude that resistance to flu symptoms is associated with a shift in cell mediated immunity from anergy toward normoergy, as measured by the degree of skin reactivity to seven common antigens such as tetanus and Candida albicans.
1998–1999 (November 1998–April 1999)	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 1998-1999 season containing the following: an A/Sydney/5/97(H3N2)-like virus; an A/Beijing/262/95(H1N1)-like virus; a B/Beijing/184/93-like virus.	Northern hemisphere
1999	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 1999 season (southern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/Sydney/5/97 (H3N2)-like virus; an A/Beijing/262/95 (H1N1)-like virus; a B/Beijing/184/93-like virus.	Southern hemisphere
1999	Influenzavirus A (H9N2)	Human	Infection case	New Influenza A virus subtype H9N2 strain is detected in humans. It causes illness in two children in Hong Kong, with poultry being the probable source. No pandemic develops.	China (Hong Kong)
1999	Influenzavirus A, influenzavirus B	Human	Medical development	Tamiflu (Oseltamivir) is approved for medical use in the United States.	United States
1999–2000 (November 1999 to April 2000)	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 1999-2000 season contain the following: an A/Sydney/5/97 (H3N2)-like virus; an A/Beijing/262/95 (H1N1)-like virus; and a B/Beijing/184/93-like virus or a B/Shangdong/7/97-like virus.
2000		Human	Alternative medicine	Homeopathic preparation Oscillococcinum becomes one of the top ten selling drugs in France, is publicised widely in the media, and becomes widely prescribed for both influenza and the common cold.	France
2000	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2000 season (southern hemisphere winter) contain the following: an A/Moscow/10/99 (H3N2)-like virus; an A/New Caledonia/20/99 (H1N1)-like virus; a B/Beijing/184/93-like virus.	Southern hemisphere
2000–2001	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2000-2001 season (northern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/Moscow/10/99 (H3N2)-like virus; an A/New Caledonia/20/99 (H1N1)-like virus; a B/Beijing/184/93-like virus.	Northern hemisphere
2001	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2001 season (southern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/Moscow/10/99 (H3N2)-like virus; an A/New Caledonia/20/99 (H1N1)-like virus; a B/Sichuan/379/99-like virus.	Southern hemisphere
2001–2002	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2001-2002 season (northern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/New Caledonia/20/99(H1N1)-like virus; an A/Moscow/10/99(H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Sichuan/379/99-like virus.
2002	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2002 season (southern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/New Caledonia/20/99(H1N1)-like virus; an A/Moscow/10/99(H3N2)-like virus; a B/Sichuan/379/99-like virus.	Southern hemisphere
2002	Influenzavirus A, Influenzavirus B	Human	Medical development	High dietary intake of green tea is correlated with reduced risk of contracting influenza, as well as having an antiviral effect upon types A and B.
2002	H7N2	Non-human (avian)	Epizootic	New avian influenza A virus subtype H7N2 strain affects 197 farms in Virginia and results in the killing of over 4.7 million birds. One person is infected, fully recovered.	United States
2002–2003	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2002-2003 season (Northern Hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/New Caledonia/20/99(H1N1)-like virus; an A/Moscow/10/99(H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Hong Kong/330/2001-like virus.	Northern hemisphere
2003	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2003 season (southern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/New Caledonia/20/99(H1N1)-like virus; an A/Moscow/10/99(H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Hong Kong/330/2001-like virus.	Southern hemisphere
2003		Human	System launch	Influenzanet launches in the Netherlands and Belgium as a participatory surveillance system monitoring the incidence of influenza-like illness in Europe. It is based on data provided by volunteers who self-report their symptoms via the Internet throughout the influenza season.	Netherlands, Belgium
2003		Human	Medical development	The mixture of Eleutherococcus senticosus ("Siberian ginseng") and Andrographis paniculata, sold under the trade name Kan Jang, is reported in the Journal of Herbal Pharmacotherapy to outperform amantadine in reducing influenza-related sick time and complications in a Volgograd pilot study of 71 patients.	Russia
2003			Medical development (vaccine approval)	The United States FDA first licenses FluMist –an intranasally administered influenza vaccine, for healthy, nonpregnant persons aged 5–49 years.	United States
2003	H7N7	Human, avian	Epidemic, epizootic	First reported case of avian influenza A virus subtype H7N7 strain in humans. 88 people are infected, one dies. 30 million birds are slaughtered.	Netherlands
2003–2004	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2003-2004 season (northern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/New Caledonia/20/99(H1N1)-like virus; an A/Moscow/10/99(H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Hong Kong/330/2001-like virus.
2003–2007	Influenzavirus A (H5N1)	Human, avian	Epidemic, epizootic	Avian (Influenza A virus subtype H5N1) strain is reported in humans. In February 2003, two people are infected in Hong Kong, one dies. In December 2003, H5N1 breaks out among chicken in South Korea. By January 2004, Japan has its first outbreak of avian flu since 1925 and Vietnam reports human cases. In Thailand, nine million chickens are slaughtered to stop the spread of the disease. By December 2006, over 240 million poultry would die or be culled due to H5N1.	East Asia, Southeast Asia
2004	Influenzavirus A (H5N1)	Human	Publication	The World Health Organizatin publishes its Guidelines for the use of seasonal influenza vaccine in humans at risk of H5N1 infection.
2004	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2004 season (southern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/New Caledonia/20/99(H1N1) -like virus; an A/Fujian/411/2002(H3N2) - like virus; and a B/Hong Kong/330/2001-like virus.
2004		Human	Organization	The Influenza Genome Sequencing Project is launched to investigate influenza evolution by providing a public data set of complete influenza genome sequences from collections of isolates representing diverse species distributions. Funded by the NIAID.
2004		Human	Publication	The World Health Organizatin publishes its guideline Advice for people living in areas affected by bird flu or avian influenza.
2004	H7N3	Human	Infection case	New avian Influenza A virus subtype H7N3 strain is detected in humans. Two poultry workers become infected, eventually fully recovered.	Canada
2004	Influenzavirus A (H10N7)	Human	Infection case	New avian influenza A virus subtype H10N7 strain is detected in humans. Two children become infected.	Egypt
2004	Influenzavirus A H5N2	Non–human (avian)	Epizootic	Avian influenza A virus subtype H5N2 infects birds in Texas. 6,600 infected broiler chickens are slaughtered.	United States
2004	H3N8	Non-human (Canidae)	Virus type discovery	Canine influenza (dog flu) virus subtype H3N8, is discovered to cause disease in canines.	United States
2004–2005	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2004-2005 northern hemisphere influenza season containing the following: an A/New Caledonia/20/99(H1N1)-like virus; an A/Fujian/411/2002(H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Shanghai/361/2002-like virus.	Northern hemisphere
2005		Human	Organization	United States President George W. Bush unveils the National Strategy to Safeguard Against the Danger of Pandemic Influenza. US$1 billion for the production and stockpile of oseltamivir are requested after Congress approves $1.8 billion for military use of the drug.	United States
2005		Human	Publication	The World Health Organization publishes its guideline Clarification on the use of masks by health-care workers in pandemic settings - in WHO global influenza preparedness plan.
2005		General	Organization	American president George W. Bush announces the International Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza. The purpose of the partnership is protecting human and animal health as well as mitigating the global socioeconomic and security consequences of an influenza pandemic.	United States (New York City)
2005	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2005 season (southern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/New Caledonia/20/99(H1N1)-like virus; an A/Wellington/1/2004(H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Shanghai/361/2002-like virus.
2005		General	Research (genomics)	New technology development led by Elodie Ghedin at The Institute for Genomic Research is first published at journal Nature describing over 100 influenza genomes.
2005	Influenzavirus A (H5N1)	Human, avian	Publication	The World Health Organization publishes its WHO guidance on public health measures in countries experiencing their first outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza.
2005 (August)	Influenzavirus A H5N3	Non-human (avian)	Infection case	Influenza A virus subtype H5N3 is identified in Quebec.	Canada
2005	H1N1	Human, avian	Infection case	Avian influenza A virus subtype H1N1 strain kills one person in Cambodia. In Romania, a village is quarantined after three dead ducks test positive for H1N1.	Cambodia, Romania
2005 (Ocober)	Influenzavirus A H5N3	Non-human (avian)	Infection case	Influenza A virus subtype H5N3 is identified in Sweden.	Sweden
2005 (November)	Influenzavirus A H5N2	Non-human (falcon)	Infection case	It is reported that a falcon was found to have H5N2.
2005–2006	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2005-2006 influenza season (northern hemisphere winter) containing the following: A trivalent vaccine containing: an A/New Caledonia/20/99(H1N1)-like virus; an A/California/7/2004(H3N2)-like virus; a B/Shanghai/361/2002-like virus.	Northern hemisphere
2006		Human	Publication	The World Health Organization publishes its guideline Avian influenza: food safety issues.
2006 (May)	Influenzavirus A (H5N1)	Human	Publication	The World Health Organization publishes its WHO Rapid Advice Guidelines on pharmacological management of humans infected with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus.
2006		Human, avian	Organization	The International Pledging Conference on Avian and Human Pandemic Influenza is held Beijing. Co-hosted by the Chinese Government, the European Commission and the World Bank. The purpose is to raise funds for international cooperation in the prevention and control of avian and human influenza.	China (Beijing)
2006		Human	Website launch	FluTrackers (flutrackers.com launches as a website, online forum and early warning system which tracks and gathers information relating to a wide range of infectious diseases, including flu and assists in how to use it to inform the general public.
2006		Human	Website launch	flutracking.net launches in Australia as a weekly web-based survey of influenza-like illness (ILI). It monitors the transmission and severity of ILI across Australia. The survey documents symptoms (cough, fever, and sore throat), time off work or normal duties, influenza vaccination status, laboratory testing for influenza, and health seeking behavior.	Australia
2006		Human	Research (epidemiology)	A randomized trial published in the British Medical Journal shows that even being able to vaccinate half the nursing home staff can prevent half of all deaths during the influenza season.	United Kingdom
2006		Human	Publication	The World Health Organization publishes its WHO strategic action plan for pandemic influenza, a document on global alert and response (GAR).	Switzerland (Geneva)
2006		Human	Program launch	The Global Action Plan for Influenza Vaccines (GAP) launches as a strategy to reduce the global shortage of influenza vaccines for seasonal epidemics and pandemic influenza in all countries of the world through three major approaches: Increase in seasonal vaccine use Increase in vaccine production capacity Research and development. The program would close in 2016.
2006		Human	Organization	The Global action plan for influenza vaccines is launched as a 10-year initiative by the World Health Organization, with the purpose to reduce the global shortage and inequitable access to influenza vaccines in the event of an influenza pandemic.
2006–2007	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2006-7 season (northern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/New Caledonia/20/99(H1N1)-like virus; an A/Wisconsin/67/2005 (H3N2)-like virus; a B/Malaysia/2506/2004-like virus.	Northern hemisphere
2007		Non-human (equine)	Epizootic	Equine influenza outbreak is diagnosed in Australia's horse population following the failure to contain infection in quarantine after the importation of one or more infected horses. The outbreak would also have a major impact on individual horse owners, the horse industry and associated sectors in both infected and uninfected states.	Australia
2007	Influenzavirus A	Human, avian	Publication	The World Health Organization publishes its guideline Avian influenza, including influenza A (H5N1), in humans: WHO interim infection control guideline for health care facilities.
2007	Influenzavirus A (H1N1, H3N2, H1N2)	Non-human (swine)	Research (virology)	A study reports that in swine, three influenza A virus subtypes (H1N1, H3N2, and H1N2) are circulating throughout the world.	Worldwide
2007	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2007 season (southern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/New Caledonia/20/99(H1N1)-like virus; an A/Wisconsin/67/2005(H3N2)-like virus; a B/Malaysia/2506/2004-like virus.	Southern hemisphere
2007–2008	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2007-8 season (northern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/Solomon Islands/3/2006 (H1N1)-like virus; an A/Wisconsin/67/2005 (H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Malaysia/2506/2004-like virus.	Northern hemisphere
2008		Human	Publication	The World Health Organization publishes its guideline Pandemic influenza preparedness and mitigation in refugee and displaced populations.
2008			Program launch	The GISAID initiative (Global initiative on sharing all influenza data) launches as a public–private partnership between the German government and the nonprofit organization Friends of GISAID that provides public access to a collection of genetic sequence data of influenza viruses and related clinical and epidemiological data through its database (named EpiFlu).	Germany
2008		Human, avian	Publication	The World Health Organization publishes its guideline Aide-Memoire -Infection control recommendations for avian influenza in health-care facilities.
2008	Influenzavirus A (H5N1)	Human	Publication	The World Health Organization publishes its guideline Protection of individuals with high poultry contact in areas affected by avian influenza H5N1: Consolidation of pre-existing guidance.
2008		Human	Publication	Roni K. Devlin publishes Influenza (Biographies of Disease). The book covers influenza as a disease with potential of being at the center of a new pandemic.
2008		Human	Publication	Antivirals for Pandemic Influenza: Guidance on Developing a Distribution and Dispensing Program is published by the U.S. Institute of Medicine.	United States
2008	Influenzavirus A (H5N1) and others	Human, avian	Publication	Avian Influenza, by Hans-Dieter Klenk, Mikhail N. Matrosovich, and Jürgen Stech, is published. It provides information about the ecology and epidemiology of avian influenza with particular emphasis on recent H5N1 outbreaks in China, Siberia and Europe.
2008	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2008 season (southern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/Solomon Islands/3/2006 (H1N1)-like virus; an A/Brisbane/10/2007 (H3N2)-like virus; a B/Florida/4/2006-like virus.
2008		General	Research (virology)	Research by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) finds that the influenza virus has a butter-like coating, which melts when it enters the respiratory tract. In the winter, the coating becomes a hardened shell; therefore, it can survive in the cold weather similar to a spore. In the summer, the coating melts before the virus reaches the respiratory tract.
2008		General	Research (epidemiology)	OpenFluDB is launched as a database for human and animal influenza virus. It's used to collect, manage, store and distribute worldwide data on influenza.	Worldwide
2008		Human	Service launch	Google launches Google Flu Trends, a web service with aims at providing estimates of influenza activity by aggregating Google Search queries. The system would provide data to 29 countries worldwide, extending service to include surveillance for dengue.	United States
2008–2009	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2008-2009 influenza season (northern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/Brisbane/59/2007 (H1N1)-like virus; an A/Brisbane/10/2007 (H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Florida/4/2006-like virus.	Northern hemisphere
2009 (January)	Influenzavirus A H5N3	Non-human (avian)	Epizootic	Influenza A virus subtype H5N3 is identified at a La Garnache farm in France. 90 birds are found dead between 29 January 2009 and 31 January 2009. The remaining stock of 4,932 birds are culled on 1 February 2009.	France
2009	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Epidemic	New flu virus (H1N1) pandemic (colloquially called the swine flu pandemic), first recognized in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, spreads quickly across the United States and the world, prompting a strong global public reaction. Overseas flights are discouraged from government health bodies. Worldwide, nearly 1 billion doses of H1N1 vaccine are ordered. A total of 74 countries are affected. 18,500 deaths.	Worldwide
2009 (April 27)	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Policy	The United States Food and Drug Administration issues Emergency Use Authorizations to make available Relenza and Tamiflu antiviral drugs to treat the swine influenza virus in cases for which they were currently unapproved. The agency issues these EUAs to allow treatment of patients younger than the current approval allows and to allow the widespread distribution of the drugs, including by volunteers.	United States
2009 (Late April)	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Epidemic	The World Health Organization declares its first ever "public health emergency of international concern" (PHEIC) in response to the H1N1 pandemic.
2009 (May)	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Research (epidemiology)	A study at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that children have no preexisting immunity to the new pandemic H1N1/09 virus strain but that adults, particularly those over 60, have some degree of immunity. Children show no cross-reactive antibody reaction to the then-new strain, while adults aged 18 to 64 had 6–9%, and older adults 34%.	United States
2009 (May 22)	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Vaccine funding	The United States Department of Health and Human Services directs US$1 billion toward development of vaccine for novel influenza A (H1N1).	United States
2009 (June)	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Policy	The World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stop counting cases and declare the H1N1 outbreak a pandemic.	Worldwide
2009	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Research (epidemiology)	A link between obesity and 2009 H1N1 flu complications is found during the pandemic.
2009	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Publication	The World Health Organization publishes its interim guidance Advice on the use of masks in the community setting in Influenza A(H1N1) outbreaks, which deals with emergencies preparedness and response.
2009	Influenzavirus A H1N1	Human	Prevalence	It is estimated that in the 2009 flu pandemic 11–21% of the then global population (of about 6.8 billion), or around 700 million to 1.4 billion people, contracted the illness—more in absolute terms than the Spanish flu pandemic. Calculated fatalities range between 12,000 and 18,000.	Worldwide
2009	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2009 influenza season (southern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/Brisbane/59/2007 (H1N1)-like virus; an A/Brisbane/10/2007 (H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Florida/4/2006-like virus.	Southern hemisphere
2009	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Medical development	A few news reports suggest the use of an elderberry (Sambucus nigra) extract as a potential preventative against the 2009 flu pandemic.
2009	Influenzavirus A (H17N10	Non-human (bats)	Virus type discovery	The first bat influenza virus (IAV H17N10) is found in little yellow-shouldered bats (Sturnira lilium) in Guatemala.	Guatemala
2009	Influenzavirus A (H11N2)	Non-human (mallards)	Virus type discovery	IAV H11N2 is found in sentinel mallards.
2009 (September 15)	Influenzavirus A (H1N1	Human	Medical development (vaccine approval)	The United States FDA approves four vaccines against the Influenza A virus subtype H1N1.	United States
2009 (October)	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Medical development	It is reported that the experimental antiviral drug Peramivir has been effective in treating serious cases of swine flu.
2009 (October 25)	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Epidemic	United States President Barack Obama officially declares H1N1 a national emergency, after the disease becomes alarmingly prevalent in the country.	United States
2009 (November)	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Research (virology)	A study is published in Virology Journal suggesting that the influenza A virus subtype H1N1 virus may be the product of three strains from three continents that swapped genes in a lab or a vaccine-making plant, and subsequently "escaped". The study follows debate among researchers in May 2009, when the authors asked the World Health Organization to consider the hypothesis. After reviewing the initial paper, WHO and other organizations conclude the pandemic strain is a naturally-occurring virus and not laboratory-derived.
2009 (December)	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Non-human (canine)	Infection case	The first case of a dog with H1N1 is reported.	United States
2009 (December)	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Medical development	A study finds that H1N1 flu can cause pulmonary embolism, surmised as a leading cause of death in the pandemic. The study authors suggest physician evaluation via contrast enhanced CT scans for the presence of pulmonary emboli when caring for patients diagnosed with respiratory complications from a "severe" case of the H1N1 flu.	United States
2009 (December 23)		Human	Medical development (vaccine approval)	The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves high-dose inactivated influenza vaccine (Fluzone High-Dose) for people ages 65 years and older.	United States
2009–2010	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2009-2010 influenza season (northern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/Brisbane/59/2007 (H1N1)-like virus; and an A/Brisbane/10/2007 (H3N2)-like virus.	Northern hemisphere
2010	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2010 influenza season (southern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus; an A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus.	Southern hemisphere
2010		Human	Publication	Influenza and Public Health: Learning from Past Pandemics is published by Tamara Giles-Vernick, Susan Craddock, and Jennifer Lee Gunn. The book explores past influenza pandemics with the purpose to obtain critical insights into possible transmission patterns, experiences, mistakes, and interventions.
2010 (August 11)	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Epidemic	The World Health Organization declares end to 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic.
2010	Influenzavirus A	Human	Tool launch	The Influenza Risk Assessment Tool (IRAT) is launched as an evaluation tool developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and external influenza experts. IRAT has the purpose to asses the potential pandemic risk posed by influenza A viruses that currently circulate in animals but not in humans. It evaluates risk elements in three domains: virus (e.g. genomic variation), population (e.g. existing population immunity), and ecology (e.g. global geographic distribution).	United States
2010–2011	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2010-2011 influenza season (northern hemisphere): an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus; an A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus.	Northern hemisphere
2011 (March)		General	Publication	The World Health Organization releases its global standards and tools for influenza surveillance. The report summarizes the discussions and recommendations concluded in a global consultation aimed at reviewing influenza surveillance standards and the current data-sharing and reporting tools.
2011	H3N8	Non–human	Epizootic	Influenza A virus subtype H3N8 causes death of more than 160 baby seals in New England.	United States
2011	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	General	Recommendation	The Advisers to the WHO Consultation on the Composition of Influenza Vaccines for the Southern Hemisphere 2012, advise WHO to use the nomenclature: A(H1N1)pdm09 in order to minimize confusion, and to differentiate the virus from the old seasonal A(H1N1) viruses circulating in humans before the pandemic (H1N1) 2009. This standardization would help to minimize potential confusion among the scientific community as well as the general public.
2011 (July 22)	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Non-human (mink)	Infection case	The Norwegian Veterinary Institute reports the first occurrence of 2009-H1N1 influenza virus in minks.	Norway
2011 (August)	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Non-human (sea otter)	Epizootic	According to the United States Geological Survey and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, northern sea otters off the coast of Washington state were infected with the same version of the H1N1 flu virus that caused the 2009 pandemic and "may be a newly identified animal host of influenza viruses".	United States
2011	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2011 influenza season (southern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus; an A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus.	Southern hemisphere
2011–2012	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2011-2012 influenza season (northern hemisphere) containing the following: an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus; an A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus.	Northern hemisphere
2012			Research	A 2012 meta-analysis finds that flu shots are efficacious 67 percent of the time.
2012	Influenzavirus A (H5N1)		Research (virology)	American virologists Ron Fouchier and Yoshihiro Kawaoka intentionally develop a strain based on H5N1 for which no vaccine exists, causing outrage in both the media and scientific community.	Netherlands (Erasmus Medical Center), United States (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
2012 (July)		Human	Publication	The World Health Organization publishes its WHO Global Epidemiological Surveillance Standards for Influenza.
2012	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2012 influenza season (southern hemisphere) containing the following: an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus.
2012		General	Publication	Yoshihiro Kawaoka and Gabriele Neumann publish Influenza Virus: Methods and Protocols. It summarizes techniques ranging from protocols for virus isolation, growth, and subtyping to procedures for the efficient generation of any influenza virus.
2012		Human	Medical development (vaccine)	United States FDA approves first seasonal influenza vaccine manufactured using cell culture technology.	United States
2012		Human	Publication	Jonathan Van-Tam publishes Pandemic Influenza, which covers the science and operational application of influenza epidemiology, virology and immunology.
2012 (November 20)		Human	Medical development (vaccine)	Novartis receives approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the first cell-culture influenza vaccine.	United States
2012 (December 12)		Human	Medical development (vaccine approval)	The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves quadrivalent formulation of Fluarix (inactivated influenza vaccine; GlaxoSmithKline).	United States
2012–2013	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2012-2013 influenza season (northern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Victoria/361/2011 (H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Wisconsin/1/2010-like virus.	Northern hemisphere
2013	H7N9	Human, avian	Epidemic	Avian Influenza A virus subtype H7N9 strain, a low pathogenic AI virus, breaks out in China. As of April 11, 2014, the outbreak's overall reaches 419 people, including 7 in Hong Kong, with the unofficial death toll at 127.	China, Vietnam
2013 (June 7)		Human	Medical development (vaccine approval)	The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves Fluzone (Sanofi Pasteur) as the third quadrivalent influenza vaccine licensed for U.S. use.	United States
2013 (June 20)		Human	Vaccine recommendation	The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) votes to recommend FluBlok influenza vaccine for people age 18 through 49 with egg allergy.	United States
2013 (August 16)		Human	Medical development (vaccine approval)	The U.S. Food and Drug Administration extends FluLaval IIV (GlaxoSmithKline) age range to include children and teens age 3–17 years; licenses quadrivalent FluLaval product.	United States
2013	Influenzavirus A (H11N9)	Non-human (domestic duck)	Virus type discovery	H11N9 is isolated from a domestic duck in live-poultry markets in Eastern China.	China
2013		Human	Medical development (vaccine approval)	The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves influenza vaccine Flublok (Protein Sciences), developed through recombinant DNA technology.	United States
2013	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Publication	Radiology of Influenza A (H1N1) is published by Hongjun Li, presenting the theory of influenza and its imaging characteristics.
2013	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2013 influenza season (southern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Victoria/361/2011 (H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Wisconsin/1/2010-like virus.	Southern hemisphere
2013		Human	Medical development (vaccine)	United States FDA approves influenza vaccine Flublok (Protein Sciences), developed through recombinant DNA technology.	United States
2013	H10N8	Human, avian	Infection case	Avian Influenza A virus subtype H10N8 strain in reported to infect humans for the first time and kills one person.	China
2013–2014	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2013-14 influenza season (northern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A(H3N2) virus antigenically like the cell-propagated prototype virus A/Victoria/361/2011; and a B/Massachusetts/2/2012-like virus.	Northern hemisphere
2014	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2014 influenza season (southern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Texas/50/2012 (H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Massachusetts/2/2012-like virus.	Southern hemisphere
2014		Human	Vaccine cost	The wholesale price per dose of influenza vaccine in the developing world is about US$5.25 as of year.	Developing world
2014 (December 11)		Human	Medical development (vaccine approval)	The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves quadrivalent formulation of Fluzone Intradermal inactivated influenza vaccine.	United States
2014 (December 19)		Human	Medical development (vaccine approval)	The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves Rapivab to treat influenza infection.	United States
2014–2015	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2014-2015 influenza season (northern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Texas/50/2012 (H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Massachusetts/2/2012-like virus.	Northern hemisphere
2015		Human	Program shutdown	Google Flu Trends shuts down in August 2015 after successive inaccuracies in the big data analysis. After performing well for two to three years since the service launch in 2008, GFT would start to fail significantly and require substantial revision. However, Google Flu Trends would also inspire several other similar projects that use social media data to predict disease trends.	United States
2015	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2015 influenza season (southern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Switzerland/9715293/2013 (H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus.	Southern hemisphere
2015 (July 12)	Influenzavirus A (H5N6)	Human	Infection case	As of date, four known cases of influenza A virus subtype H5N6 infection, three fatal, have occurred in humans.
2015	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Epidemic	The 2015 Indian swine flu outbreak causes nearly 30,000 laboratory confirmed cases with more than 1700 deaths by March 15. Most of these cases are reported from the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.	India
2015 (November 24)		Human	Medical development (vaccine approval)	The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves new injectable influenza vaccine, Fluad, for use in people age 65 years and older.	United States
2015–2016	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2015-2016 influenza season (northern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Switzerland/9715293/2013 (H3N2)-like virus; a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus.	Northern hemisphere
2016 (May)		Human	Tool launch	The Tool for Influenza Pandemic Risk Assessment (TIPRA) is developed by the World Health Organization to provide a standardized and transparent approach to support the risk assessment of influenza viruses with pandemic potential. TIPRA supports hazard assessment by asking a risk question about the pandemic likelihood and impact of an influenza virus.
2016	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2016 influenza season (southern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Hong Kong/4801/2014 (H3N2)-like virus; a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus.	Southern hemisphere
2016	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Non-human (porcine)	Research (virology)	A report by researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine finds that the 2009 H1N1 virus likely originated from pigs in a very small region of central Mexico.	Mexico, United States
2016		Human	Medical development (vaccine)	Vaxigrip Tetra is approved in Europe except for infants younger than three years old.	Europe
2016 (November 18)		Human	Medical development (vaccine approval)	The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves extending the age range for use of FluLaval Quadrivalent to include children 6 to 35 months of age.	United States
2016 (November–December)	Influenzavirus A (H5N6)	Human	Infection case	Human cases of H5N6 are reported in China.	China
2016–2017	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2016-2017 influenza season (northern hemisphere winter) containing the following: an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Hong Kong/4801/2014 (H3N2)-like virus; a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus.	Northern hemisphere
2017		Human	Medical development	Researchers from the University of Texas at Arlington build influenza detector that can diagnose at a breath, without the intervention of a doctor.	United States
2017	H5N6	Avian	Epizootic	An outbreak of H5N6 avian influenza affecting poultry occurs in at least three towns in Philippines	Philippines
2017		Human	Research	Researchers from the University of Helsinki demonstrate that three anti-influenza compounds effectively inhibit zika virus infection in human cells.	Finland
2017		Human	Publication	Mieczyslaw Pokorski publishes Influenza and Respiratory Care.
2017 (August 25)	Influenza	Human	Recommendation	The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publishes ACIP 2017–18 influenza vaccination recommendations.
2017 (August 31)		Human	Medical development (vaccine approval)	The U.S. Food and Drug Administration expands licensure of Afluria quadrivalent (Seqirus) to include people age 5 years and older.
2017–2018	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Epidemic	Pakistan reports H1N1 cases mostly arising from the city of Multan, with deaths resulting from the epidemic reaching 42.	Pakistan
2017–2018	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2017-2018 northern hemisphere influenza season containing the following: an A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Hong Kong/4801/2014 (H3N2)-like virus; a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus.	Northern hemisphere
2018 (January 11)		Human	Medical development (vaccine approval)	The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves expanded pediatric age indication for Fluarix Quadrivalent influenza vaccine."	United States
2018 (February)	Influenzavirus A, influenzavirus B	Human	Medical development	Antiviral medication Xofluza (baloxavir marboxil) is approved for sale in Japan.	Japan
2018 (June 8)		Human	Vaccine recommendation	The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publishes ACIP's recommendations for the use of quadrivalent live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV4) in the 2018–19 influenza season."
2018 (August 24)		Human	Vaccine recommendation	The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publishes ACIP's 2018–19 influenza vaccination recommendations.
2018 (October)		Human	Medical development (vaccine approval)	The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves expanded age indication for Seqirus’s Afluria influenza vaccine to include children age 6 months through 59 months.
2018	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2018 southern hemisphere influenza season containing the following: an A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Singapore/INFIMH-16-0019/2016 (H3N2)-like virus; a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus.	Southern hemisphere
2019 (January)	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Epidemic	An outbreak of H1N1 is recorded in Morocco, with nine confirmed fatalities.	Morocco
2019 (January 15)		Human	Vaccine launch	A cell-based quadrivalent influenza vaccine by manufacturer Seqirus is licensed in Europe for use for people nine years and above, after the European Commission issues marketing approval for its new seasonal influenza vaccine, Flucelvax Tetra. This is the first cell-based quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIVc) available in Europe.	Europe
2019 (January 23)		Human	Medical development (vaccine approval)	The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves use of the 0.5 mL dose of Sanofi's Fluzone Quadrivalent influenza vaccine to include children age 6 through 35 months.	United States
2019	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2019 southern hemisphere influenza season containing the following: an A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Switzerland/8060/2017 (H3N2)-like virus; a B/Colorado/06/2017-like virus (B/Victoria/2/87 lineage); a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus (B/Yamagata/16/88 lineage). The World Health Organization also recommends that egg based trivalent vaccines for use in the 2019 southern hemisphere influenza season contain the following: an A/Michigan/45/2015 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Switzerland/8060/2017 (H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Colorado/06/2017-like virus (B/Victoria/2/87 lineage). It is recommended that the A(H3N2) component of non-egg based vaccines for use in the 2019 southern hemisphere influenza season be: A/Singapore/INFIMH-16-0019/2016-like virus together with the other vaccine components as indicated above.
2019 (August 28)			Vaccine recommendation	The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention releases ACIP recommendations on the use of influenza vaccines for the 2019–20 influenza season.	United States
2019 (November 4)			Medical development (vaccine approval)	The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent (Sanofi Pasteur) for adults 65+ years of age—will be available for 2020–21 flu season.	United States
2019 (November)	Influenzavirus A (H1N1)	Human	Epidemic	An outbreak of H1N1 is recorded in Iran, with 56 fatalities and 4,000 people hospitalized.	Iran
2019–2020	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2019-2020 northern hemisphere influenza season containing the following: an A/Brisbane/02/2018 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Kansas/14/2017 (H3N2)-like virus; a B/Colorado/06/2017-like virus (B/Victoria/2/87 lineage); and a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like virus (B/Yamagata/16/88 lineage).	Northern hemisphere
2020	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2020 southern hemisphere influenza season containing the following: an A/Brisbane/02/2018 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/South Australia/34/2019 (H3N2)-like virus; a B/Washington/02/2019-like (B/Victoria lineage) virus; a B/Phuket/3073/2013-like (B/Yamagata lineage) virus. WHO also recommends that trivalent influenza vaccines for use in the 2020 southern hemisphere influenza season contain the following: an A/Brisbane/02/2018 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/South Australia/34/2019 (H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Washington/02/2019-like (B/Victoria lineage) virus.	Southern hemisphere
2020 (January)	Influenzavirus A (H5N1)	Human	Medical development (vaccine)	The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves Audenz, an adjuvanted influenza A (H5N1) monovalent vaccine. Audenz is a vaccine indicated for active immunization for the prevention of disease caused by the influenza A virus H5N1 subtype contained in the vaccine. Audenz is approved for use in persons six months of age and older at increased risk of exposure to the influenza A virus H5N1 subtype contained in the vaccine.	United States
2020 (February 21)		Human	Medical development (vaccine approval)	The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves the first adjuvanted quadrivalent flu shot for seniors.	United States
2020 (June 8)		Human	Medical development (vaccine approval)	The European Commission approves aQIV, the first adjuvanted quadrivalent influenza vaccine is the continent, built on the well-established technology used in an existing adjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine (aTIV) available in several European countries already.	Europe
2020 (June 29)	G4 EA H1N1	Human, non-human	Research	Researchers in China report having identified a new influenza strain in pigs, called G4 EA H1N1, which has 'essential hallmarks' of a pandemic virus.	China
2020–2021	Influenzavirus A (H3N2, H1N1)	Human	Vaccine recommendation	The World Health Organization recommends vaccines to be used in the 2020 - 2021 northern hemisphere influenza season containing the following: Egg-based Vaccines: an A/Guangdong-Maonan/SWL1536/2019 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Hong Kong/2671/2019 (H3N2)-like virus; a B/Washington/02/2019 (B/Victoria lineage)-like virus; and a B/Phuket/3073/2013 (B/Yamagata lineage)-like virus. Cell- or recombinant-based Vaccines: an A/Hawaii/70/2019 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Hong Kong/45/2019 (H3N2)-like virus; a B/Washington/02/2019 (B/Victoria lineage)-like virus; and a B/Phuket/3073/2013 (B/Yamagata lineage)-like virus. It is recommended that trivalent influenza vaccines for use in the 2020 - 2021 northern hemisphere influenza season contain the following: Egg-based Vaccines an A/Guangdong-Maonan/SWL1536/2019 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Hong Kong/2671/2019 (H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Washington/02/2019 (B/Victoria lineage)-like virus. Cell- or recombinant-based Vaccines an A/Hawaii/70/2019 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Hong Kong/45/2019 (H3N2)-like virus; and a B/Washington/02/2019 (B/Victoria lineage)-like virus.	Northern hemisphere
2020 (July 9)		Human	Research	A study in Brazil conducted on more than 92,000 patients suggests that an inactivated trivalent flu shot may protect patients from getting severe COVID-19 by improving their innate immunity.	Brazil
2020 (July 13)		Human	Research	Research concludes that asingle dose of baloxavir marboxil can reduce the spread of influenza among household contacts.
2020 (August 26)		Human	Research	Scientists say that COVID-19 precautions made influenza almost disappear in the Southern Hemisphere.	Southern Hemisphere
2020 (August 27)		Human	Research	A study by United States CDC on more than 80,000 adult patients hospitalized with influenza over eight seasons concludes that sudden, serious heart complications are common, occurring in 12% of patients, or 1 in 8. This result strengthens the link between influenza and serious heart conditions.	United States
2020 (September 24)		Non-human (mice)	Research	Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai report having identified two antibodies that protect mice against lethal infections of influenza B virus, using an antibody that targets influenza A.	United States
2020 (September 29)		Human	Public opinion	A national poll conducted in the Unied States, with nearly 2000 respondents, results in 1 in 3 parents saying they are not going to get the influenza vaccine in the year. The most common reasons include concerns about side effects or beliefs that it is not necessary or effective.	United States
2020 (October 12)			Infection case	The first case of coronavirus and influenza double infection is confirmed in Mexico.	Mexico
2020 (November 24)		Human	Research	German and British scientists report having discovered that influenza drug aprotinin, a protease inhibitor, can prevent the SARS CoV-2 virus from entering host cells.
2020 (November 30)		Human	Research	Study by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine finds that survivors from a wide range of cancers are more likely to be hospitalized or die from seasonal influenza, even years after their cancer diagnosis.	United Kingdom
2020 (November 30)		Human	Research	Study at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden concludes that influenza infections can lead to an increased risk of bacterial pneumonia. Study author Birgitta Henriques Normark says “The ability of pneumococcus to grow in the lower airways during an influenza infection seems to depend on the nutrient-rich environment with its higher levels of antioxidants that occurs during a viral infection, as well as on the bacteria’s ability to adapt to the environment and protect itself from being eradicated by the immune system”.	Sweden
2020 (December 7)		Human	Testing	United States FDA authorizes the first COVID-19 test to detect COVID-19, as well as influenza A and B.	United States
2020 (December 8)		Human	Medical development (vaccine)	An observer-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase I trial conducted by Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai researchers on a chimeric hemagglutinin (HA)-based vaccine, concludes that it has the potential to provide long-lived protection against a spectrum of influenza strains with two or three immunizations, eliminating the need for revaccination.	United States
2021 (January 11)		Human	Medical development	Hoffmann-La Roche announces approval by the European Commission of Xofluza (baloxavir marboxil) for the treatment of uncomplicated influenza in patients aged 12 years and above.
2021 (January 14)		Human	Research	A randomized controlled trial of vitamin D supplements led by QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Australia finds they do not protect most people from developing colds, influenza and other acute respiratory infections.	Australia
2021 (January)			Medical development (vaccine)	Researchers complete the first human trial of a vaccine created by recombinant genetic technology to make the immune system attack a part of the virus that does not change so fast and is common among different strains. This makes a universal influenza vaccine one step closer, bringing long-lasting protection against the disease.
2021 (February)	H5N8	Human	Infection case	Russia reports cases of the first known H5N8 avian flu infection in humans, involving seven workers at a poultry plant in the south of the country.	Russia
2021 (February)			Research	A Phase 1 study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation reports on a safe intranasal influenza vaccine, able to produce a durable immune response. The recombinant, replicating adenovirus vaccine, called Ad4-H5-VTN, is designed to spur antibodies to hemagglutinin, a protein found on the surface of influenza viruses that attaches to human cells.
2020 (September 18)		Human	Prevalence	United States CDC reports on decreased influenza activity worldwide during the Covid-19 pandemic, as a result of massive adoption of preventive measures, like mask wearing and socially distancing, which are effective against both diseases.	Worldwide
2021 (March)		Human	Research	Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University jointly develop a CRISPR-based treatment ( mRNA-encoded Cas13a) to stop the replication in mice of both the influenza virus and SARS‑CoV‑2, which causes COVID-19.	United States
2021 (March)		Human	Medical development (vaccine)	A research team at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan develops a vaccine providing protection against all strains of influenza, which can be administered in the form of a nasal spray instead of by injection.	Taiwan
2021 (March)		Human	Research	Researchers report on a treatment with an immune receptor blocker in combination with an antiviral agent which has the potential to reduce influenza-associated morbidity and mortality.	United States
2021 (March 29)		Human	Research	A Los Alamos National Laboratory vaccine development software called Epigraph is described to have the potencial ability to create a broadly reactive influenza vaccine for H1N1 influenza, to offer a path toward a pan-influenza vaccine and possibly coronavirus vaccine as well.	United States

Numerical and visual data

Mentions on Google Scholar

The table below summarizes per-year mentions of the influenza types and influenza vaccine (entries without quotation marks) on Google Scholar as of May 11, 2021.

Year	Influenza A virus	Influenza B virus	Influenza C virus	Influenza D virus	Influenza vaccine
1980	2,600	2,110	2,100	1,980	923
1985	3,670	3,080	3,010	2,910	1,280
1990	4,410	3,950	3,860	3,730	1,600
1995	5,740	5,130	5,150	5,010	2,240
2000	9,910	8,840	8,900	8,490	5,130
2002	11,600	10,400	10,500	9,910	6,620
2004	15,800	13,700	13,900	13,200	8,870
2006	20,700	17,000	17,500	16,700	10,900
2008	24,600	21,000	21,400	20,500	13,400
2010	36,600	30,200	31,300	30,200	17,400
2012	40,300	35,800	36,500	35,200	21,400
2014	41,300	37,500	38,400	37,400	22,700
2016	41,500	38,300	39,200	37,600	22,200
2017	43,000	39,100	39,200	38,500	22,500
2018	41,600	38,900	39,200	38,200	23,700
2019	39,200	37,200	36,900	36,100	23,700
2020	55,600	50,900	54,300	45,700	29,600

Google Trends

The comparative chart below shows Google Trends data Influenza (Disease) and Influenza (Search Term) from January 2004 to February 2021, when the screenshot was taken. Interest is also ranked by country and displayed on world map. See local maximums indicating interest peaking in April 2009 (Swine flu pandemic), and March 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic).

Google Ngram Viewer

The chart shows Google Ngram Viewer data for Influenza from 1600 to 2019.

Wikipedia Views

The chart below shows pageviews of the English Wikipedia article Influenza on desktop from December 2007, and on mobile-web, desktop-spider,mobile-web-spider and mobile app, from July 2015; to January 2021.

Meta information on the timeline

How the timeline was built

The initial version of the timeline was written by User:Sebastian.

Funding information for this timeline is available.

Feedback and comments

Feedback for the timeline can be provided at the following places:

• FIXME

See also

• Timeline of global health