In 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) Influenza Centre was established at the National Institute for Medical Research in London, now part of the Francis Crick Institute.

After the first flu vaccine was introduced in 1945, there was a need to research and monitor flu strains to keep the vaccine up-to-date.

The primary tasks of the organization are   collect and characterize influenza viruses, develop methods for the laboratory diagnosis of influenza virus infections, establish a network of laboratories, and disseminate data accumulated from their investigations.