ECCMID 2020 Regular Fee Deadline – March 6

Only a few days remain to secure your ticket for ECCMID 2020 in Paris before the late fee will apply (regular registration rates are available until March 6, 2020). Don’t pay the price for registering late, visit the official ECCMID website to secure your ticket today!

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ESCMID International Course Announcement:
Viña del Mar, Chile – November 2020

Via EITaF: Emerging infections and Coronavirus

Last week, members of the ESCMID Emerging Infections Task Force (EITaF) met in Istanbul to discuss recent developments in the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak. Interviews with Prof. Eskild Petersen, Prof. Nicola Petrosillo and Prof. Önder Ergönül were conducted and have been uploaded to the ESCMID YouTube channel.

You can read the latest update news on COVID-19 Outbreak on the EITaF Outbreak News webpage, where you can also sign up to receive email notifications when a new Outbreak News item is published.

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Applications for ESCMID Non-funded Observerships are accepted from Full and Young Scientist Members

Applications for Non-funded Observerships are being accepted throughout the year. We hope that all ESCMID Young Scientist Members and all ESCMID Full Members make use of this opportunity, get their CV’s and proof of positions ready and submit their application. The Non-funded Observerships are only available for ESCMID Full/Young Scientist Members. More information and details about the eligibility criteria can be found at the link below.

In case of questions, please contact: observership@escmid.org  

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ECCMID 2020 Session Highlight: Vaccine hesitancy and its impact on travel and migration

Whether due to vaccine-hesitancy or a lack of awareness, travellers and migrants may be exposed to infections with severe consequences both for the individual and the community. Speakers Holly Seale, Sally Hargreaves and Milan Trojeanek will outline the impact of inadequate pre-travel precautions and vaccination, on the health of travellers and migrants. Be sure to see this important discussion on Monday, 20 April 2020 at 13:30 - 15:30 in Hall C.

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GARDP Webinar: PK/PD Murine Infecton Models

Don’t miss the next GARDP Webinar, to be held on Thursday, 27 February at 17:00 CET. In a presentation highlight from the 2019 Boston edition of the ASM/ESCMID Conference on Drug Development to Meet the Challenge of Antimicrobial Resistance, Alexander J. Lepak will be presenting on the topic: PK/PD murine infection models: Focus on study elements, variability, and interpretation of results. Sign up for the webinar online here

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CMI highlight: Using machine learning to optimise antibiotic combinations: dosing strategies for meropenem and polymyxin B against carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii

Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) has been defined as a critical-priority pathogen and placed among the top tier of bacteria requiring research for clinical solutions, according to the World Health Organization. Unfortunately, as resistance has increased, agents capable of treating extensively drug resistant A. baumannii have left the polymyxins as a last-line, critically important class of antibiotics against CRAB. Previous studies have shown a utility in using carbapenems in combination with polymyxins against CRAB in order to revitalise carbapenem activity and to prevent the development of polymyxin resistance.

In this study, N. Smith et al. aimed to generate additional data on the pharmacodynamics of meropenem plus polymyxin B (PMB) against a previously published CRAB isolate; develop an updated mechanistic model that describes the intrinsic activity of both agents and the synergy of the two together; and implement a genetic algorithm (GA) to define an optimal, proof-of-concept dosing regimen for administering both drugs together.

The proliferation of drug resistant A. baumannii in the clinical setting has resulted in an increased need to use combination therapy. The main finding of this study was the successful generation of six optimised regimens which were designed to improve the probability of reducing bacterial counts to 0 in up to 90% of subjects. The authors conclude that controlling and enhancing key regimen features such as dose, infusion rate and number of daily doses, will be important considerations in the precision use of multiple agents to combat microbial resistance.

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