St. Jude Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (SJCEIRS)

The St. Jude CEIRS (SJCEIRS) continues to support an international influenza surveillance network focused on wild birds and domestic animals that includes sites in the U.S., Canada, Bangladesh, China, Colombia, and Egypt. St. Jude researchers are particularly interested in understanding how some avian flu viruses jump from infecting birds to infecting humans and other mammals while others do not. In addition to surveillance, researchers are studying the human immune response to influenza, risk factors associated with influenza complications, transmission of influenza, and others. The CEIRS contract also supports St. Jude’s ongoing role in developing influenza vaccine seed stock that can be used to ramp up production of new influenza vaccines.