Dear readers of INFECTION

Abstract

It was a great honour for me to be nominated as the new Editor-in-Chief of INFECTION and it is my privilege to address you with these salutatory lines. I have known INFECTION for more than 20 years, I have published many times in INFECTION and I served on the Editorial Board for 12 years. My own commitment to the journal also has a personal connotation: I am well acquainted with the honoured founder of our journal, Prof. Walter Marget, now Editor Emeritus, who encouraged me to take on the new task as a follower of Prof. Christian Ruef, who steered INFECTION successfully for more than a decade. Under his leadership, the journal’s scientific impact was increased and the transition to a full-scale online journal along with the transition to a new publisher was accomplished. This is the time and opportunity to express gratitude and admiration for him and his work! And thank you Prof. Ruef as well for staying on the Section Editors board. As we state in the aims and scope declaration of INFECTION, the first aim of the journal is to be ‘‘a peerreviewed forum for the presentation and discussion of clinically relevant information on infectious diseases for readers and contributors from all over the world’’. As the new Editor-in-Chief, I will be supported by Section Editors in seven Sections. Two major European societies of clinical infectious diseases (Italy: Societa Italiana di Malattie Infettive e Tropicali, SIMIT; Germany: Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Infektiologie, DGI) have a cooperation with INFECTION as their scientific publication organ. This is a basis for a Europe-based journal that, however, receives papers from all over the world, including Asia and Africa. According to the new style of editorial work, we now have the opportunity to strengthen our diversity in the direction of international travel medicine and tropical diseases, as well as emerging infectious diseases (Section ‘‘Parasitic infections & international health’’). Submitted and accepted articles deal with the aetiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. We will continue to cover public health issues of the most regional or international importance. This will increasingly relate to infectious diseases caused by multi-resistant organisms encountered in the community and in the hospital. One of the new Sections will be called ‘‘Healthcare-associated infections, Antimicrobial use, Healthcare quality’’. All kinds of infections due to organisms will continue to be represented (Sections ‘‘Clinical microbiology’’, ‘‘Fungal infections’’ and ‘‘Viral infections’’) and also ‘‘Pediatric infectious diseases’’ will be covered in an extra Section. We will continue to publish interesting case reports and papers of general interest and on the use of anti-infective compounds (Section ‘‘Clinical infectious diseases’’). I was the board member who suggested to introduce a new publication type, IMAGES in INFECTION, and I will pay special attention to this. Maybe we will succeed in showing how colourful and exciting infectious diseases can look like? Over the years, we will end up with an images series depicting all areas of diseases. Please present your exciting IMAGES in INFECTION. May I express my respect and gratitude to the members of the Board of Section Editors for their acceptance to serve on the Board as well as the Editorial Board members in continuation of the existing group of advisors. I am looking forward to continuing the excellent teamwork with the Publisher’s team headed by S. Ibkendanz and C. Lodge at Springer. J. Bogner (&) Sektion Klinische Infektiologie, Klinik und Poliklinik IV, Klinikum der Universitat Munchen, Pettenkoferstr. 8a, 80336 Munich, Germany e-mail: Johannes.Bogner@med.uni-muenchen.de