World Health Organisation (WHO) joins with ESCMID to fight global infections

European infection specialists advocating vaccines as a viable solution to tackle antimicrobial resistance.

The European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) has been joined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to launch the 7^th annual ‘International Day for Fighting Infection’ (April 24^th, 2015).  This year’s event sees the European society exploring vaccines as a possible solution in the global, cross-border fight against antimicrobial resistance.

The event is free for anyone to attend and coincides with the ESCMID annual congress (ECCMID) in Copenhagen and the WHO’s “World Immunization Week”. The overall mission of the day is to increase international collaboration and to highlight cutting-edge methods in the battle against infectious disease. The WHO will be providing an update from its European office across Ebola, Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis and polio, whilst ESCMID will explore how we can start harnessing the potential of vaccines in the intensifying battle against antimicrobial resistance.

Following ‘International Day for Fighting Infection’ will be the 25th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, which will be held from 25-28 April 2015.

Murat Akova, ESCMID President:

Our annual ‘International Day for Fighting Infection’ has traditionally been held on or around St George’s day, and it seems very fitting as the war against antimicrobial resistance can now be fought with a needle rather than a sword - vaccines have huge potential to help combat this growing problem.  This event is designed specifically with the goal of spreading the word throughout the medical community of the society’s mission and solutions we are exploring. For instance, the ESCMID guidelines on antimicrobial resistance should be the basis of all healthcare professions’ response. Moreover, this year the WHO has expanded its collaboration with us, recognising our excellent work and is throwing its full support behind the campaign