12^thGlobal Infections Conference

A viral disease (or viral infection) occurs when an organism's body is invaded by pathogenic viruses, and infectious virus particles (virions) attach to and enter susceptible cells.

Bacteria are living things that have only one cell. Under a microscope, they look like balls, rods, or spirals. They are so small that a line of 1,000 could fit across a pencil eraser. Most bacteria won't hurt you - less than 1 percent of the different types make people sick. Many are helpful. Some bacteria help to digest food, destroy disease-causing cells, and give the body needed vitamins. Bacteria are also used in making healthy foods like yogurt and cheese.

But infectious bacteria can make you ill. They reproduce quickly in your body. Many give off chemicals called toxins, which can damage tissue and make you sick. Examples of bacteria that cause infections include Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, and E. coli.

Fungal infections are common throughout much of the natural world. In humans, fungal infections occur when an invading fungus takes over an area of the body and is too much for the immune system to handle. Fungi can live in the air, soil, water, and plants. There are also some fungi that live naturally in the human body. Like many microbes, there are helpful fungi and harmful fungi. When harmful fungi invade the body, they can be difficult to kill, as they can survive in the environment and re-infect the person trying to get better.

Antimicrobial resistance is threatening the management of infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, malaria, and AIDS. In the past, resistance could be handled by development of new drugs active against resistant microbes. However, the pharmaceutical industry has reduced its research efforts in infections; genomics has not delivered the anticipated novel therapeutics; new regulatory requirements have increased costs; antibiotic use in common infections—eg, bronchitis and sinusitis—is questioned; and, compared with other drugs, return on investments is lower for antimicrobials. To avoid a serious threat to public health, academia, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, regulators, and healthcare providers must find solutions to this problem. Academia should concentrate on technologies to unlock new drug targets, and industry on drug candidates. In addition, regulators and pharmaceutical companies should agree on new clinical-trial designs so that information on therapeutic efficacy is generated in fewer patients—eg, by studying pharmacodynamics of antimicrobials in patients with defined Infections

STD stands for "sexually transmitted disease." STDs are infections that are passed on through the close, intimate contact that usually accompanies sexual activities. Some common STDs include the following: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Chlamydia.

Emerging infectious diseases are infections that have recently appeared within a population or those whose incidence or geographic range is rapidly increasing or threatens to increase in the near future. Emerging infections can be caused by: Previously undetected or unknown infectious agents.

Bacterial, viral, parasitic or fungal infections are all types of infectious diseases that can make your child sick and are reason for concern. These illnesses need to be treated by specialists who are committed to preventing and treating acute and chronic infectious diseases including HIV and AIDS.

The most common and serious vaccine-preventable diseases tracked by the World Health Organization (WHO) are: diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae serotype b infection, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, pertussis, poliomyelitis, rubella, tetanus, tuberculosis, and yellow fever.

Infection control is the discipline concerned with preventing nosocomial or healthcare-associated infection, a practical (rather than academic) sub-discipline of epidemiology. It is an essential, though often under recognized and under supported, part of the infrastructure of health care. Infection control and hospital epidemiology are akin to public health practice, practiced within the confines of a particular health-care delivery system rather than directed at society as a whole. Anti-infective agents include antibiotics, antibacterials, antifungals, antivirals and antiprotazols.

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events (including disease), and the application of this study to the control of diseases and other health problems. Various methods can be used to carry out epidemiological investigations: surveillance and descriptive studies can be used to study distribution; analytical studies are used to study determinants.

The Molecular Bacteriology section in the Department of Medical Microbiology performs fundamental, translational and application-oriented research on the very diverse roles of bacteria in human health and disease. The main objective is to develop novel approaches for the prevention, detection or treatment of diseases caused by important bacterial human pathogens that are especially threatening to very young, elderly or immune-compromised individuals.

The molecular bacteriological research addresses the mechanisms that lead to virulence and antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Porphyromonas gingivalis in order to identify novel targets for preventive or therapeutic interventions with novel anti-microbial agents, human monoclonal antibodies or vaccines. In addition, innovative solutions for the direct detection of bacterial infections are explored using antibiotics or antibodies that have been labeled with near infrared fluorophores or radioisotopes. In ecological studies the dynamics of the human gut microbiota and interactions between bacteria are investigated, not only in relation to disease but also in response to interventions with antibiotics or prebiotics and probiotics. A major theme within the bacteriological studies is the analysis of the secretome, which includes all proteins exported to the cell surface and host milieu. This is important, because the secretome is the main reservoir of compounds that influence human health in negative or positive ways. 

Communicable diseases” means infectious diseases which spread from one person to another by contact (air, water,saliva, blood etc) and Non-communicable diseases” means which are not spread from one to another but affect health in large numbers causing public health issues.

The most important causes of sepsis are pneumonias, followed by intra-abdominal and urinary tract infections actually, the high use of endovascular prosthesis and devices represent an important risk factor of infection and its complications. Bacteria are the most common cause of sepsis, both Gram-positive and Gram-negative. Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae are the most common Gram-positive isolates, while Escherichia Coli, Klebsiella spp., and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are the most represented among Gram-negative isolates.

There is an increasing role of methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), not only in hospitalized patients, but also in community acquired infections. Until 2016, sepsis was defined as a “Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) with a documented infection” while severe sepsis was defined as “A systemic inflammatory response syndrome with a documented infection, related to organ failure, hypotension or reduced tissue function