11 October 2005

The seminar was organised at the House of Lords to give the Committee an opportunity to discuss issues connected to the inquiry with a number of experts in the field.

Members of the Committee present were Lord Broers (Chairman), Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, Lord Howie of Troon, Lord Mitchell, Lord Patel, Baroness Perry of Southwark, Earl of Selborne, Baroness Sharp of Guildford, Lord Soulsby of Swaffham Prior, Lord Taverne and Lord Winston. Also present were the Committee's Specialist Adviser (Professor Julius Weinberg), the Clerk (Christopher Johnson), and the Committee Specialist (Jonathan Radcliffe).

The seminar began with the following presentations:

• Introduction (Professor Weinberg);
• The view from Vietnam (Professor Jeremy Farrar, University of Oxford Centre for Tropical Medicine, based at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Ho Chi Minh City);
• The influenza virus (Sir John Skehel, Director, and Head of Infections and Immunity Group, National Institute for Medical Research);
• Influenza epidemiology (Professor Neil Ferguson, Professor of Mathematical Biology, Imperial College).

Following the presentations the Committee discussed issues arising in the inquiry. Also present for the discussion were:

• Gerald Hetherington (Department of Health);
• Laurie Smith (Academy of Medical Sciences);
• Jonathan van Tam (Health Protection Agency);
• Maria Zambon (Health Protection Agency).