It is a great pleasure for us to welcome you to Vienna!

 

After 15 years, the Austrian capital is again hosting the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID), which has become the central event in the field of infectious diseases over the years, its programme and attendance increasing consistently.

 

Vienna on the river Danube, one of Europe’s most dynamic cities, has a history of staging international events and is a veritable melting pot of different cultures. A centre of intellectual life in Europe, its rich cultural and historical heritage attracts countless visitors from all over the world each year. Vienna’s multicultural character has had a significant impact not only on the arts and humanities, but also on the development of the famous Vienna School of Medicine. Its great names – Ignaz Semmelweis, Theodor Billroth, Josef Skoda and Sigmund Freud, as well as their contemporary successors – stand for truly remarkable achievements.

 

In the 27 years since its inauguration, ECCMID has steadily grown in importance, its meetings providing a unique opportunity for participants to interact, learn and impart knowledge in the areas of antimicrobial chemotherapy and infectious diseases which play such an important role in the world of medicine around our globe.

 

We are pleased to offer you a scientific programme of high standard with keynote lectures and parallel tracks and the opportunity to hear about the latest advances in clinical microbiology and infectious diseases. Stimulating topics on the latest research findings in laboratory and clinical diagnostics as well as therapy and prevention of infectious diseases are addressed in a truly interdisciplinary perspective. The list of invited speakers includes many international leaders in their field. In addition, your contributions are displayed in a poster exhibition that undoubtedly will generate lively discussions.

 

At the attractive Austria Center Vienna, we believe you will find an ambience which allows participants to engage in discourse easily, with plenty of room to meet old friends and to make also new ones. Thus, the meeting’s relaxed form at will ensure that you enjoy the benefits of education and make use of the chance to access and interact with colleagues and experts both from our region and beyond.

 

With a very large number of participants from Europe and most other parts of the world, we hope that this meeting is once again a platform for scientists focused on both clinical as well as research topics to present and discuss mutual problems of interest in the field of infectious diseases and their treatment and prevention.

 

We wish you a successful and informative congress!

 

 

Wolfgang Graninger 20th ECCMID President	Javier Garau ESCMID President	Jordi Vila ECCMID Programme Director