ERS Assembly 10: Respiratory infections

Group 10.01
Chair: Michael Loebinger
Secretary: Pieter Goeminne

Respiratory infections are associated with increased morbidity, high health cost and in specific groups of patients with increased mortality (elderly, comorbidities, immunocompromised patients etc).

For this reason, the major targets of Respiratory infections Assembly 10.01 of ERS are:

• education on early adequate and appropriate treatment of those infections, such as guidelines and networks;
• prevention, including vaccination projects;
• and research activities.

Group 10.02
Chair: Alberto Garcia-Basteiro
Secretary: Fusun Öner Ayşegül Eyüboğlu

Tuberculosis (TB) and other mycobacterial (NTM) diseases are the topics of this Group. Despite a global fall in TB incidence, Europe is noted for its high numbers of TB in its capital cities, related to migration. The eastern part of the European region also has the highest and fastest growing incidence of multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (M/XDRTB) of any part of the world. Western Europe has a low incidence of TB and therefore is ideally placed to investigate latent tuberculosis. HIV-associated mycobacterial diseases remain an important topic for this Assembly.

Recent advances in tests, such as the IFN-g release assays, led to a resurgent interest in clinical research. This has been mirrored by the number of abstracts presented at our annual ERS Congress and journal articles in the European Respiratory Journal. New drugs are being explored in clinical trials. Advances in genetic sequencing and the role of the “omics” (e.g. genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics) are now being applied to clinical mycobacterial disease and promise an expanding role of this group in the life of the European Respiratory Society.

We encourage scientists to propose new research advances to the Society and we encourage all clinicians to take part in a clinical study, so that the scientific advances of our day can be translated into effective treatment and monitoring of our patients.

Group 10.03
Chair: Andrea Gramegna
Secretary: Maria Do Pilar Azevedo De Almeida Cardim