A report from the 20th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (April 10-13, 2010 - Vienna, Austria).

Effective antimicrobials currently in use in Europe and throughout the world are fast losing ground as many pathogens acquire resistance to newly introduced drugs. Multidrug and panresistance have now been identified in many pathogens, as iteratively discussed throughout this year's meeting of the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID). As extensively discussed in an oral session entitled Worldwide Dissemination of Resistances by 10 specialists from across Europe and the world, important drug resistances have now been identified in Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella enterica, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumanii and virtually all known pathogens (Roede, B.M. et al., Abst O127; Huenger, F. et al., Abst O395; Mera, R.M. et al., Abst O483). While many other issues were discussed, including the role of healthcare professionals and of hand hygiene in controlling the spread of infections (Derde, L. et al., Abst O464), microbial resistance was indeed the main topic of discussion in the many oral and poster presentations at the Austria Center in Vienna. The war against the superbugs has been declared and initiatives have been taken for tracking and destroying difficult to treat pathogens. Treatments of the diseases caused by these multidrug- and panresistant organisms continue, as manifested by new research and population surveys. However, with antimicrobial resistances as leitmotiv background music, other very recent scientific achievements and findings in diagnostics and treatment for infectious diseases took center stage in Vienna, including important information on novel drugs for infectious diseases and the use and comparative effectiveness of extant drugs, as summarized in the following report.