The ESCMID awards nomination period is only open for 3 more days!

Only 3 days are left in which you are able to nominate your outstanding colleagues for the following prestigious ESCMID awards, to be presented at ECCMID 2021 in Vienna.

• ESCMID Award for Excellence in Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
• ESCMID Young Investigator Award for Research in Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
• ESCMID TAE Outstanding Trainee Award in Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

The call for 2021 ESCMID awards will close on 9 October 2020, 17:00 CEST.

Don’t hesitate: click here to find out more information about the ESCMID awards and submit your nominations!

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PAW 2020: Preliminary Programme available, Registration is open!

Nobel Prize awarded to Infectious Disease scientists

The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been jointly awarded to three Infectious Disease scientists for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus.

Harvey J. Alter (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA), Michael Houghton (University of Alberta, Canada) and Charles M. Rice (Rockefeller University, New York, USA) have been recognised for their seminal discoveries that led to the identification of the novel Hepatitis C virus.

Their discoveries have made possible blood tests and medicines that have saved millions of lives.

Read more on the Nobel Prize website and the associated press release.

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ESCMID call for new guidelines projects 2020

There is time until the 1st of November 2020 to submit proposals for new guidelines projects! The call is open to ESCMID members and ESCMID Study Groups, who are invited to submit proposals for clinical practice guidelines projects in the following topics:

1. Diagnosis and treatment of Community Acquired Pneumonia;
2. Diagnosis and treatment of Brain Abscess management;
3. Update of the 2014 ESCMID guideline of prevention of infections due to MDR-GN.

Full details can be found in the call text here.
For any questions, please write to guidancedocuments@escmid.org

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Via ECDC: EULabCap 2018 report published

The EULabCap bi-annual surveys assess key public health microbiology service capabilities and capacities for EU surveillance and epidemic preparedness. The results help policymakers at all levels identify possible areas for action and evaluate the functional impact of capacity-strengthening activities and health system reforms.

The fifth consecutive EULabCap report presents EU/EEA laboratory capabilities and capacities in 2018 and the trends of previous survey results over the period 2013–2018.

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GARDP Webinar: Exploring safety issues in antimicrobial drug development

The next instalment of the ‘Antibiotic bootcamps for developers’ series is taking place this Thursday, 8 October at 16:30 CEST. 

Join speakers Will Redfern, Julie Eakins and Paul B. Watkins, along with moderator Claire Sadler, as they delve into the safety issues involved in antimicrobial drug development.

Register on the GARDP Website.

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International Workshop on Microbiome in HIV Pathogenesis, Prevention, and Treatment 2020 – Discounts for ESCMID Members!

The 6th International Workshop on Microbiome in HIV Pathogenesis, Prevention and Treatment will be held virtually from 7th to 8th October 2020.

ESCMID members can benefit from a 25% discount on their registration fee to the workshop by using the code: EN25MICROHIV2020.

Find out more on the event website.

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CMI highlight: Recommendations for antibacterial therapy in adults with COVID-19 – An evidence based guideline

The Dutch Working Party on Antibiotic Policy constituted a multidisciplinary expert committee to provide evidence-based recommendation for the use of antibacterial therapy in hospitalized adults with a respiratory infection and suspected or proven 2019 Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation methodology (GRADE) approach was used to grade the evidence and to develop recommendations.

The authors assessed evidence on the risk of bacterial infections in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the associated bacterial pathogens, how to diagnose bacterial infections and how to treat bacterial infections. 

Bacterial co-infection upon admission was reported in 3.5% of COVID-19 patients, while bacterial secondary infections during hospitalization occurred up to 15%. No or very low quality evidence was found to answer the other key clinical questions. Although the evidence base on bacterial infections in COVID-19 is currently limited, available evidence supports restrictive antibiotic use from an antibiotic stewardship perspective, especially upon admission.

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