The high morbidity and mortality associated with both pandemic and seasonal influenza, and the threat of new pandemic strains emerging, continues to keep influenza at the forefront of infectious disease and public health research. Mean annual estimates of influenza deaths due to seasonal influenza alone, attributes 36,000 deaths in the US and 250,000 to 500,000 deaths in industrialized countries to influenza. Pandemics can have an even more devastating effect, and we must continue to be prepared by making attempts to reduce the public health impact of this important virus.