Titel: Threat of Infection: Microbes of High Pathogenic Potential – Strategies for Detection, Control and Eradication

Termin: 25.7.2004, 14:00 Uhr, bis 28.7.2004, 13:00 Uhr

Veranstaltungsort:
Großer Hörsaal (Lecture Hall)
Anatomisches Institut
Universität Würzburg
Koellikerstrasse 6
D-97070 Würzburg

Weitere Informationen:
http://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/infektionsbiologie/leopoldina.htm

Kurzbeschreibung: Infectious diseases due to microbes of high pathogenic potential represent a major health problem in developing and industrial countries. Despite the availability of antibiotics and vaccines against some of these microorgansims, the mortality rates remained high in the past. World wide, infectious diseases cause approximately 33 % of the total deaths. Two main reasons are responsible for this. First, a dramatic increase of antimicrobial resistance among pathogens and second, the failure of vaccination strategies due to the high costs in developing countries and the weariness of vaccination in industrial countries. The antigenic variation and flexibility of surface proteins of pathogens represent a further difficulty. The emergence of new pathogens is of high public concern and novel antimicrobial agents and vaccination strategies have to be developed against these novel emerging microbes with high pathogenic potential. This will finally also lead to the improvements of current vaccines, which exhibit a low efficacy in high risk groups. A prerequisite for achieving these goals is to understand how viruses, bacteria and parasites convert the immune defense of the host for their own advantage and how these microorganisms communicate with their hosts. A further aspect is the misuse of highly pathogenic microorganisms or their toxins as biological weapons.

The topics of the symposium will give insights into the host-pathogen-interaction, the evolution of pathogens as well as the action of virulence factors and toxins. On the molecular level mechanisms of genome flexibility of various pathogens and the RNA interference strategies will be presented. Aspects concerning the pathogen reservoir, the transmission of infectious agents and novel detection methods will be discussed as well as preventive and therapeutic approaches. Moreover, the symposium will also cover the political and social aspects of infectious diseases from the past to the future. The symposium will bring together scientists and experts in their special fields and offer a communication platform also for young scientists and students.

Kontakt: Mrs Claudia Borde (Secretary)
Institut für Molekulare Infektionsbiologie
Röntgenring 11
D-97070 Würzburg
Germany

Tel.: +49 - (0)931 - 31 25 75
Fax.: +49 - (0)931 - 31 25 78

claudia.borde@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de

Veranstalter: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina, Halle, Académie des Sciences, Paris, Research Center for Infectious Diseases, University of Wuerzburg

Schlagworte: Gesundheitswesen