The year in microbiology and infectious diseases; a tale of two conferences

Abstract

The two largest conferences in Microbiology & Infectious Diseases are held annually in Europe and the USA. The latest joint European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) and International Congress of Chemotherapy (ICC) was held in Munich, Germany during 31st March 2007 to 3rd April 2007. Subsequently, the 47th Annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) was held on September 17 – 20, 2007, in Chicago, Illinois. Munich (Muenchen) is Germany's third largest city and the Bavarian capital. Nestled to the north of the Bavarian Alps on the Isar River, it is home to over one million inhabitants and is surrounded by astonishingly beautiful countryside. Chicago is the major metropolis of the Midwest and the third most populous city in the US. Chicago got its most famous nickname in 1893 when, after growing exasperated with the long-winded boastings of the city's politicians, Charles Dana, editor of the New York Sun, dubbed it ‘the Windy City’. As a great and exciting city, Chicago is famous for its picturesque Lake Michigan shoreline, including The Sears Tower, North America's tallest building. With the ubiquitous elevated trains creating a continuous clatter, the city looks big, feels big and is big. This review aims at summing up the year in microbiology and infectious diseases, mostly using articles presented at these two conferences. Readers should refer to the ESCMID and the ICAAC websites for full details of the programme, authors and their affiliation, abstracts where available, etc. Readers should also refer to original publications by the authors to verify scientific content.