Joint DGI and DZIF Annual Meeting in Munich
Infectious diseases are a leading cause of death worldwide. Current problems such as antibiotic resistance, declining vaccination rates and emerging infections like Ebola present scientists and physicians with major challenges. A part of their work also involves developing new diagnostics and drugs against HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and hepatitis. For the first time, the German Society of Infectious Diseases (DGI) and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) have set up a joint conference. From 19 to 21 November, around 300 experts will discuss current issues and projects in their fields of expertise.
The most recent, and to date largest, Ebola outbreak in 2014 caused over 11,000 deaths. The challenge now lies in preventing new disease outbreaks. Accelerated vaccine development is one of the conference topics. On 20 November, in a panel discussion with Kathrin Zinkant, editor of the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, experts will discuss the topic “Vaccine protection against tomorrow’s epidemics—when is accelerating the clinical development of vaccines against emerging pathogens ethical?” An accelerated vaccine programme is currently being implemented for the Ebola vaccine.
“Rapidly developing vaccines against Ebola and other emerging infectious diseases is an important central focus at the DZIF,” emphasizes DZIF Chairman Prof Martin Krönke. Additionally, the Annual Meeting programme highlights the broad range of other infectious disease research activities at the DZIF. Besides emerging infections, researchers also focus on diseases such as AIDS, hepatitis, malaria, tuberculosis and gastrointestinal diseases.
A further focus of the conference is fighting hospital-acquired infections. The increasing spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens calls for new anti-infective agents and measures for effectively containing multidrug-resistant bacteria. “One of the central tasks in infectious disease medicine is advancing the knowledge of how these infections can be prevented and treated,” says Prof Gerd Fätkenheuer, Head of Infectious Diseases at Department I of Internal Medicine of the University Hospital Cologne and Chairman of the DGI. “We need more infectious disease specialists who are able to treat patients with complex diseases and also train other physician groups.”
At the joint DGI and DZIF Annual Meeting, scientists will present the current status of their infection research projects. “The first joint Annual Meeting is a chance for us to bring our knowledge even closer together, and effectively advance our future joint goals in the fight against infections,” says Fätkenheuer.
We would like to warmly invite all interested journalists to the conference. The expert presentations will be partially held in English. The panel discussion will be taking place in German.
Please register for the conference at presse@dzif.de
Joint Annual Meeting of the German Society of Infectious Diseases (DGI) and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF)
Dates: 19 to 21 November 2015
Venue: Paulaner am Nockherberg, Hochstr. 77, 81541 Munich
Panel discussion on 20 November 2015, from 3.45 to 4.45 am
“Vaccine protection against tomorrow’s epidemics—when is accelerating the clinical development of vaccines against emerging pathogens ethical?”
Moderator: Kathrin Zinkant, Editor at the ‘Ressort Wissen’ of the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung
Participants:
- Prof Marylyn Addo (University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf)
- Prof Klaus Cichutek (Paul-Ehrlich-Institut)
- Prof Stephan Becker (Phillips-Universität Marburg)
- Dr Joachim Klein (Federal Ministry of Education and Research)
At the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) over 500 staff from 35 institutions throughout Germany jointly develop new approaches for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. The aim is to translate research results into clinical practice quickly and effectively. With this, the DZIF paves the way for developing new vaccines, diagnostics and drugs against infections. You can find more information at www.dzif.de.
The German Society of Infectious Diseases (DGI) is a scientific expert society in the field of infectious disease medicine for hospitals, practices and research. Beyond its primarily clinical-orientation, it also focusses on the interdisciplinary nature of the field, and the relevance of infectious disease medicine to public health, both nationally and internationally. You can find more information at www.dgi-net.de