The year 2012 is an important year for London as host of theOlympic and Paralympic Gamesthis summer. However,BMC Infectious Diseaseswas equally excited to attend22nd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases(ECCMID) at the ExCeL exhibition and convention centre also held in the east end of the capital.

The Olympics were a widely discussed event highlighted in a series of talks on infection control during mass gatherings. Valuable insight into the challenges London will face was presented by the Saudi Assistant Deputy Minister of Health Prof Ziad Memish as he discussed his country’s experience withthe Hajj.

The debate sessions contained some lively discussion on diverse themes such as whether computer models can be used to predict disease outbreaks and the use of contact precautions to prevent the spread ofmultidrug resistance organisms(MDROs), such asmethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

BMC Infectious DiseasesAssociate Editor DrShirish Huprikaralso presented fascinating work on renal transplantation in HIV-positive patients which, together with other work presented during the conference, highlighted the vast progress that has been made in the treatment of patients infected with HIV in the 30 years since this disease was first discovered.

The23rd ECCMIDwill be held in Berlin and we look forward to an equally packed and interesting schedule.

Image credit: Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH