Dear Colleagues and Friends,
On behalf of the ISPPD Board and the Latin-American organizers, it is my privilege and pleasure to invite you to participate in the 8th International Symposium on Pneumococci and Pneumococcal Diseases, to be held in Foz de Iguaçu City, Brazil, in 2012.
ISPPD is a unique international summit devoted to the exchange, advancement, and dissemination of new information to fight pneumococcal morbidity and mortality, from basic scientific insights to technological innovations and developments in diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Initiated in 1998, ISPPD has grown in affiliates, professional perspectives and geographical representation, bringing together clinicians, public health experts, academics, researchers and pharmaceutical developers who have a professional stake in S.pneumoniae and pneumococcal diseases. This biennial event is considered the world’s foremost multidisciplinary forum in the field, influencing future research endeavors, medical care and public health decisions, worldwide.
The 8th Symposium of ISPPD will build upon lessons learned through the past seven successful meetings, and will stand by the high scientific and organizational standards dictated by the ISPPD Steering Board. The Local Organizing Committee gathers together distinguished experts, investigators and opinion leaders from all over Latin America, who have dedicated their work to the success of ISPPD-8. As always, the scientific program will embrace all matters of interest to the understanding of S.pneumoniae and its interactions with the human host, with a focus on the latest achievements, emerging controversies and lingering hurdles and gaps, in the pathway to controlling their consequences on individuals and societies. Topic-specific sessions will be comprised of state-of-the-art lectures, oral papers and poster presentations, and will be structured to encourage and facilitate open discussion and interaction between delegates and the invited faculty.
We are delighted and honored to welcome the ISPPD-8 assembly to Foz de Iguaçu City, by the life-bursting landscape of Iguaçu Falls. We wish to extend a special invitation and recognition to all Latin American epidemiologists, microbiologists, general practitioners and infectious disease specialists who have a role in the pneumococcal disease arena, as well as to those who have contributed in an anonymous manner to the various research initiatives that have aided our current understanding of pneumococcal infections in our region. They are critical partners of the ISPPD community and we invite them to join and share with us the honor of hosting our guests from overseas.
I look forward to welcoming you in Iguaçu for an exciting scientific event, with a natural backdrop of inspiring natural beauty and Latin American friendship.
Warmest Wishes,
Rosanna Lagos