1st INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON SWINE INFLUENZA
FROM SCIENCE TO POLICIES
23–25 September 2026
Hotel International, Zagreb, Croatia
SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME
Day 1 — Wednesday, 23 September 2026
European Swine Influenza Network (ESFLU) Final Meeting & Stakeholders’ Roundtable,
Moderator – Zrinka Grancarić
08:00–09:00 | Registration |
09:00–09:50 | Opening ceremony Welcome addresses from the organisers |
09:50–10:00 | Meeting organisation & symposium overview Gwenaëlle Dauphin |
SESSION 1 — DIAGNOSTICS & VIRUS DYNAMICS | |
10:00–10:25 | Historical perspectives of swine influenza in Europe Gaelle Simon |
10:25–10:45 | Strengthening diagnostic capability in Europe Sasan Fereidouni, Annika Graaf-Rau, Chiara Chiapponi, Helen Everett |
10:45–11:10 | Collaborative monitoring of virus spatial & geographic dynamics Gautier Richard, Pia Ryt-Hansen, Alexander Byrne |
11:10–11:40 | Coffee break |
SESSION 2 — SURVEILLANCE, BIOSECURITY & ECONOMICS | |
11:40–12:00 | Swine influenza surveillance: approaches & guidelines Tijs Tobias |
12:00–12:20 | Biosecurity for swine influenza Miroslav Kjosevski |
12:20–12:40 | Economic impact of swine influenza Eduardo Velazquez |
SPONSOR PRESENTATIONS | |
12:40–12:50 | Gold sponsor — Ceva Santé Animale |
12:50–13:00 | Gold sponsor — Inel Medicinska Tehnika |
13:00–13:05 | Silver sponsor — Noack |
13:05–14:00 | Lunch |
SESSION 3 — VACCINATION, PERCEPTION & ZOONOTIC RISK | |
14:00–14:25 | Vaccines and vaccination Claire Hautefeuille |
14:25–14:50 | Disease and vaccination perception Lucía Dieste Pérez |
14:50–15:15 | Zoonotic risk Lars E. Larsen |
15:15–15:45 | Coffee break
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STAKEHOLDERS’ ROUNDTABLE — POLICY & FUTURE STRATEGY | |
15:45–16:45 | Panel discussion with policy makers & stakeholders Facilitator: Gwenaëlle Dauphin (ESFLU)
Panelists: Andreas Birch (Ø-Vet, Denmark) Angeliki Melidou (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control) Helen Everett (Animal and Plant Health Agency, United Kingdom) Gregorio Torres (World Organisation for Animal Health)
Themes: future of swine influenza prevention and control in Europe, addressing surveillance, policy development, One Health collaboration, and the translation of scientific evidence into practice |
16:45–17:15 | Closure of the day Gwenaëlle Dauphin |
20:00–22:00 | Dinner |
Day 2 — Thursday, 24 September 2026
Scientific Symposium — Day 1 of 2
SESSIONS 4 & 5 Virus evolution & characterisation · Diagnostics & detection methods | |
09:00–09:30 | KEYNOTE LECTURE Swine influenza virus dynamics in depth (2013–2026) Gautier Richard |
09:30–10:00 | KEYNOTE LECTURE Monitoring zoonotic cases: what we see in humans (One Health) Angeliki Melidou |
SESSION 4 — VIRUS EVOLUTION & CHARACTERISATION Moderator: Dimitrios Papadopoulos | |
| Moderator: |
10:00–11:00 | 4.1 Pre-pandemic characterisation of swine influenza viruses: a WHO Collaborating Centre perspective Alexander M. P. Byrne 4.2 Evaluating Vaccination Strategies Against Antigenically Drifting Swine Influenza A Virus in Farrow-to-Finish Herds: An Agent-Based Modeling Study Jerrold M. Tubay 4.3 Evolution of surface proteins in swine influenza A viruses circulating in Belgium (2023–2026) Maha Masoudi 4.4 Regular monitoring of Spanish pig farms in different regions reveals a high degree of genetic diversity and dynamic circulation of influenza A virus within farms Ivan Domingo-Carreño |
11:00–11:30 | Coffee break & poster viewing |
SESSION 5 — DIAGNOSTICS & DETECTION METHODS Moderator: Eveliina Breukers | |
11:30–12:30 | 5.1 Another virus bites the dust: electrostatic dust collectors as non-invasive alternative for detection and sequencing of influenza A virus in pig herds Marina Meester 5.2 Which influenza-A subtypes can be found in fattener blood on Hungarian farms with HI testing? Péter Máté 5.3 Serological and molecular detection of swine influenza A virus in Macedonian commercial pig farms Branko Angjelovski 5.4 Same virus, different stories: measuring swine influenza virus transmission in three Dutch farms under endemic circumstances Evelien A. Germeraad |
12:30–12:45 | FLASH POSTER PRESENTATIONS P1 Optimizing swine influenza A virus sampling for herd-level surveillance and strain characterization — Julia Stadler P2 Swine influenza A virus surveillance in Slovenian pig farms using non-invasive environmental and air sampling approaches — Marina Štukelj P3 Beyond the matrix: diagnostic genomics for influenza A virus detection in pigs — Sander Boden P4 An end-to-end pipeline for assembly, genotyping and surveillance of swine influenza — Casper Thorup P5 Evolutionary dynamics of swIAV quasispecies during a scheduled monitoring of respiratory pathogens in Spanish pig farms — Ivan Domingo-Carreño |
12:45–13:45 | Lunch & poster session |
SESSION 6 — EPIDEMIOLOGY & SURVEILLANCE Moderator: Gavrila Amadea Puspitarani | |
13:45–14:05 | KEYNOTE LECTURE European swine influenza situation Pia Ryt-Hansen |
14:05–14:25 | KEYNOTE LECTURE Situation in the Americas Martha Nelson |
14:25–14:45 | KEYNOTE LECTURE Situation in Asia Tommy Lam |
14:45–15:15 | Coffee break & poster viewing |
15:15–16:45 | 6.1 Ongoing circulation of human-derived H3N2 swine influenza viruses in Northern Italy Laura Soliani 6.2 H3N2 influenza A virus detected in pigs in Great Britain for the first time in three decades Benjamin C. Mollett 6.3 Genomic surveillance reveals dominance of Eurasian avian-like swine influenza A virus and bidirectional transmission in Swiss pig herds Mike Mwanga 6.4 Understanding endemic swine influenza dynamics in pig herds: insights from longitudinal monitoring and machine learning Elisabeth Hellec 6.5 Integrated surveillance strategies of swine influenza A viruses to assess environmental contamination and occupational exposure in pig farms Andrea Fortin 6.6 Enhancing influenza A surveillance in the Netherlands: addressing epidemiology gaps of influenza A in a One Health context Lucía Dieste-Pérez |
16:45–17:00 | FLASH POSTER PRESENTATIONS P6 Multisectorial surveillance reveals genetic diversity and potential reverse zoonotic transmission of swine influenza A viruses in Austria — Elena Lucia Sassu P7 Unusual rise of H1N1pdm09 swine influenza virus in France: insights from the Ceva virological surveillance network (2019–2026) — Eduardo Velazquez P8 Genetic characterization of swine influenza viruses, including a reassortant strain, in Finland, 2014–2025 — A. Kauppinen P9 Serological screening and preliminary subtyping of swine influenza in Croatian wild boars (2024–2025) — Andreja Jungić |
20:00–23:30 | Dinner |
Day 3 — Friday, 25 September 2026
Scientific Symposium — Day 2 of 2
SESSION 7 — PREVENTION & CONTROL Moderator: Katarzyna Podgórska | |
09:00–09:30 | KEYNOTE LECTURE Swine influenza vaccines: pipeline, immunity & current products Enric Mateu |
09:30–10:15 | 7.1 RNA particle vaccines encoding influenza A virus hemagglutinin or neuraminidase: safety and efficacy in pigs Susan Knetter 7.2 Detection rates and vaccination strategies in Danish sow herds 2020–2025 Charlotte Sonne Kristensen 7.3 Biosecurity measures for optimised management & control of swine influenza in pig herds Paula Rebollo-Igual, Alessia Rusina |
10:15–10:45 | Coffee break & poster viewing |
10:45–11:15 | 7.4 Perception of swine influenza A risk for animal and human health and role of vaccination among stakeholders in the pig industry: a qualitative study in Brittany, France Séverine Thys 7.5 Understanding Serbian pig farmers’ perceptions for effective swine influenza prevention and control Jasna Prodanov-Radulović |
11:15–11:30 | FLASH POSTER PRESENTATIONS P10 Field evaluation of piglet performance following vaccination of the breeding herd against pandemic swIAV — Veronika Vladimirova P11 Transmission events of swine- and human-origin influenza A virus in turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) — Lara Cavicchio P12 Virological background of swine IAV-positive pigs in Switzerland: preliminary evidence of PPIV1, SOV and PHEV — Ada Mescoli P13 Pandemic risk of European swine influenza viruses: replicative fitness in a human model — Abi Lofts P14 Towards a harmonized assessment of the economic impact of swine influenza A virus in Europe — Jelena Maletićs |
11:30–12:00 | Closing ceremony Summary & key messages; Gwenaëlle Dauphin |
End of the Symposium
Contact
Email: esflu.meeting@swineflu.eu
Website: https://swineflu.eu
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/esflu-cost-ca21132
This programme is preliminary. Sessions, speakers and timings are subject to change.
Organised by the Croatian Veterinary Institute and the European Swine Influenza Network (ESFLU)
Supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) — COST Action CA21132
About the Symposium
The 1st Swine Influenza Symposium, combined with the final European Swine Influenza Network (ESFLU) meeting, brings together researchers, policymakers, veterinarians and stakeholders from across Europe and beyond to share the latest scientific findings on swine influenza and explore how research can inform practical decision‑making and effective policies.
The first‑day event showcases four years of collaborative achievements from the European Swine Influenza Network (ESFLU), a COST Action that has harmonised surveillance, enhanced data sharing, developed guidelines, and built capacity across 30+ European countries. The following two days constitute the open international symposium, featuring keynote lectures, scientific sessions and networking opportunities.
Through scientific presentations, stakeholder dialogue and networking sessions, participants will engage with the latest research findings within a One Health framework, fostering interdisciplinary and cross‑sectoral collaboration.
Key Topics
- Diagnostic and laboratory method harmonization
- Viral evolution and genetic diversity across Europe
- Surveillance systems and epidemiology
- Biosecurity measures and farm management
- Economic impact and control strategies
- Vaccines and vaccination strategies
- Zoonotic risk assessment and One Health approaches
- Policy development and stakeholder engagement
Expected Participants
150-200 participants including researchers, veterinarians, diagnosticians, epidemiologists, policy makers, representatives from international organizations (WHO, ECDC, WOAH, EFSA, OFFLU), industry stakeholders, and early-career scientists.
Additional Information
Poster Sessions
Poster presentations will be displayed throughout the symposium with dedicated viewing times during coffee and lunch breaks. Selected posters will be featured in 3‑minute flash presentations.
Abstract Submission
Call for abstracts will open on 2 May 2026 and close on 15 June 2026. Abstracts can be submitted for oral or poster presentations across all thematic areas. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by 30 June 2026.
Registration
Registration will open on 15 April 2026. Details on registration fees and deadlines will be available on the symposium pages.
Venue & Accommodation
Hotel International, Zagreb, Croatia. Accommodation recommendations and booking information will be available on the symposium website.
Contact
For inquiries: esflu.meeting@swineflu.eu
Website: https://swineflu.eu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/esflu-cost-ca21132
This event is supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology),
funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union