Programme of
6th International Conference on Tularemia

Preface

The 6th International Conference on Tularemia will be held at Charité, Berlin, from 13 to 16 September 2009. This university hospital complex combines a long history, beginning in 1710 as “Plague-House”, with today’s very modern achievements. After the re-unification of Germany in 1989, the Charité became the medical school for both the Humboldt University and the Free University of Berlin. With four campuses, it is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe with 15,000 employees and 8,000 students.

It is also the place where many famous physicians and scientists have worked or studied for at least part of their academic lives, such as the Nobel Prize winners Emil Adolf von Behring (1854-1917), Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915), and Rudolf Virchow (1821-1902). In particular, the microbiologist Robert Koch (1843-1910) must be mentioned since the 100th anniversary of his death will be commemorated next year. Notably, Robert Koch established basic methods and approaches which later supported the discovery of Francisella. Therefore, the team of the Robert Koch-Institut is pleased to serve as the local organizers of the conference, and we cordially welcome all participants to Berlin. 

As with all Tularemia conferences before, the 6th International Conference on Tularemia hopes to be a top forum for the exchange of knowledge about tularemia and its causative agent, Francisella tularensis, and of all aspects of clinical, applied and fundamental research. Over the years since the first conference, the interest in this disease and its causative agent has been steadily growing. In addition to raised awareness because of the agent’s possible intentional usage, in some regions of the world it also causes epidemics and affects humans and animals. There is a real need to understand the pathology and biological mechanisms of infection, as well as the epidemiology and ecology of these bacteria, in order to develop new treatments and vaccines. Moreover, Francisella is a fascinating model organism for studying the behaviour of facultative intracellular bacteria in interaction with their target cells.

This interest and the increasing need for communication, exchange of experience and materials, and training in diagnostics and research methods has led to the idea of creating a Tularemia International Society. Under the umbrella and with active participation of WHO, a group of scientists has met twice in Berlin at the Robert Koch-Institut to develop this idea. We would like to use this conference to further discuss the idea of a Tularemia Society, with a view to taking the first steps towards launching this Society.

The comprehensive programme of the 6th International Conference on Tularemia is the result of the input by the Tularemia community and the intensive work of the Scientific Committee. We are looking forward to an exciting and useful conference that will provide the platform for new ideas, and serve as a gathering of colleagues and friends.

On behalf of the Scientific Committee and the Local Organizing Committee
Roland Grunow  

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