33rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases in Leipzig, Germany.

The 33rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID) was held in Leipzig, Germany, from May 12 to 16, 2015 (Fig. 1).Figure 1: Both chairs of ESPID2015 (Michael Borte, left, and Volker Schuster, right) in front of the atrium of the congress center, Leipzig.Again, as before, the main theme was Advances in Paediatric Infectious Diseases. This topic was chosen because it offered the chance to present innovative and important research in all areas of pediatric infectious diseases. Since its founding in 1983 (Cambridge, United Kingdom), ESPID has grown to include more than 1000 members from Europe and, increasingly, also from other countries out of Europe. ESPID’s annual meeting provides an excellent forum for clinicians and scientists interested in the many aspects of pediatric infectious diseases including clinical practice, research, education and training. Two thousand one hundred sixty-nine participants from all over the world attended this meeting. This is markedly less than for ESPID 2013 (Milan, 3363 attendees) and ESPID 2014 (Dublin, 2665 attendees). One reason for this negative trend was the decline of sponsored group delegates (2013: 1143; 2014: 772; 2015: 518). The “top 20” countries of participants registered were as follows: United Kingdom (170 participants), Germany (125), Belgium (113), Spain (109), Greece (104), France (101), The Netherlands (81), Italy (71), Brazil (55), United States (51), Turkey (49), Romania (46), Portugal (43), Switzerland (43), Saudi Arabia (40), Finland (36), Czech Republic (35), Austria (34), Bangladesh (33) and Russia (31). Ten percent of participants came from East Asia and Pacific (stable since 2009). A total of 961 abstracts were submitted; the “top” countries were Spain (98 abstracts), Turkey (94), United Kingdom (88), Greece (39), India (35), Portugal (32), Netherlands (29), Germany (27), Italy (24) and Iran (23). Overall, the meeting has given global perspectives on pediatric infections, vaccinations and antimicrobial resistance. A total of 25 scientific sessions were organized, 17 “meet the professor” sessions and 16 moderated E-Poster Walks. Furthermore, 556 hanging posters were presented, and 12 short oral presentations were given. The seventeen “meet the professors” sessions comprised the topics of methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections, pleural empyema in children, pediatrics in the tropics, management of pediatric HIV, otitis media and tonsillitis, diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infections, management of invasive infections after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation osteomyelitis and septic arthritis, vaccines in children with chronic conditions and catch up vaccination in case of delayed immunization, advances in pathophysiology and management of periodic fever syndromes, prebiotics and probiotics in pediatric infectious diseases, hepatitis A, practical aspects of hospital hygiene measures, infections by pets and reptiles, fungal infections, pitfalls in diagnosis and treatment of urinary tract infection and infections by Bordetella pertussis. The first 2 days before the official meeting started with industry-sponsored satellite symposia mainly dedicated to vaccine-preventable diseases and included detailed discussions about vaccines against influenza, pneumococcal infection, meningococcal disease, pertussis and varicella. One further satellite symposium raised and answered questions “how to maintain and increase vaccine acceptance and coverage for all age groups in the digital era” from the position of the healthcare professional, the policy maker’s perspective, the anthropologist’s perspective and the journalist’s role. Herein, we want to thank all sponsors for their financial support. The meeting formally started on May 14, Thursday, with an ESPID opening ceremony symposium entitled “Emerging Infectious Diseases Outbreaks” (Chairs: Ronald de Groot, the Netherlands, and Tobias Tenenbaum, Germany). Albert Osterhaus (the Netherlands) first gave an overview on “Infectious Diseases From Animals to Humans and From Humans to Animals” followed by Ilaria Capua (Italy) who spoke on “Emerging Infectious Diseases Between Reality and Perception.” Then a short description of the society’s mission was given by ESPID’s President Ronald de Groot, further welcoming addresses were presented by Michael Borte and Volker Schuster, followed by representatives of local authorities, and a performance by an excellent local school band of Leipzig. During the meeting, the following ESPID symposiums were given with great resonance and success: Global perspectives on arthropod-borne infections, tick-borne encephalitis in children (J. Süss, Germany), Lyme disease (F. Strle, Slovenia), West Nile virus in children (B. Martina, the Netherlands) Vaccine developments under debate: Varicella and zoster vaccination (U. Heininger, Switzerland) accelerating clinical trials for new vaccine development (A. V. S. Hill, United Kingdom) vaccines of the future (R. Rappuoli, Italy) Changing faces of nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections: Genetic and clinical aspects of NTM infections (P. Henneke, Germany), interferon-γ–release assays for the diagnosis of tuberculous and NTM infections (M. Tebruegge, United Kingdom) Sepsis and meningitis: Evidence-based treatment for sepsis in neonates (D. Isaacs, Australia) and evidence of adjuvant therapies in bacterial meningitis (T. Tenenbaum, Germany) Current problems in pediatric infectious diseases: Clostridium difficile–associated disease in children (T. Zaoutis, United States), treatment of multidrug resistance pathogens in children (S. Ashkenazi, Israel) Update in diagnostics and treatment of hepatitis B and C: Hepatitis B (S. Wirth, Germany) and hepatitis (G. Indolfi, Italy) Antimicrobial resistance—all you need to know: Prevention of antimicrobial resistance in the clinic (J. Kluytmans, the Netherlands) Bill Marshall lecture and award: pertussis—a never ending story? (U. Heininger, Switzerland) Skin infections: Decoding fever and rash in children (R. Fölster-Holst, Germany), atopic eczema and the microbiome (A. Oranje, Netherlands); skin infections through pets (S. Dobson, Canada) Hospital-acquired infections: Manipulating the microbiome to prevent hais (A. Milstone, United States), bundle approaches in the prevention of nosocomial infections in children (V. Rosenthal, Argentina), antimicrobial stewardship in pediatric infectious diseases: the spanish perspective (O. Neth, Spain) In an ESPID/European Society for Immunodeficiencies joint symposium, a session “infectious clues to primary immunodeficiency” (Chairs: M. Borte and V.Schuster, both Leipzig), S. Latour (Paris, France) presented actual data on primary immunodeficiency diseases revealed and triggered by Epstein-Barr virus infection. A. Cant referred detailed clinical cues to primary immunodeficiency diseases (Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom). C. Picard (France) thereafter presented an excellent overview on typical infections seen in innate immune defects. Furthermore, an ESPID/World Health Organization joint symposium about Ebola and measles and an ESPID/European Scientific Working group on Influenza joint symposium on influenza vaccination of children: “a critical appraisal in a pro/con style scientific debate” were excellent organized, presented and intensively discussed. With the end of ESPID 2015, we thank everybody involved in the organization of the meeting, the ESPID President Ronald de Groot and the Board for their support, the International Scientific and the Local Organizing Committee, the very excellent speakers and active discussants and importantly the delegates and the conference organizers Kenes. ESPID has further grown as a society. The meeting now covers the full spectrum of pediatric infectious disease issues. We urge you to join us next year as Adam Finn is already planning an exciting program for ESPID 2016 in Brighton, United Kingdom, May 10–14, 2016 (see http://espid2016.kenes.com/). We sincerely hope to see you there!