Holiday wishes from ISAC

As 2023 draws to a close, ISAC would like to extend its gratitude to its Executive Committee members, Member Societies, Working Groups and global colleagues for the valuable work they undertake in the field of infectious diseases and antimicrobial chemotherapy.

We would also like to take this opportunity to reflect on ISAC’s activities over the past 12 months.

33rd ICC
• In collaboration with the Turkish Society of Hospital Infections and Control (HIDER), ISAC began preparations to host the 33rd International Congress of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (ICC) in Istanbul, Turkey from 3 – 6 November 2024.
• The Scientific Programme is now available online.
• A number of Young Investigator Travel Awards will be available– visit the website for more details.

ISAC Academy
• ISAC continued to deliver educational material via the ISAC Academy, an educational resource featuring both ISAC and stakeholder content including e-modules, webinars, podcasts and more.
• ISAC developed two new free e-modules as part of its series of short courses on infection topics – "Fever in returning travellers" and "Hepatitis C Virus: Tackling this infection with Direct Acting Antivirals".
• ISAC continued to deliver a programme of free educational webinars on a broad range of topics including:
"H5N1 Avian Influenza", "One-health approach to eliminating rabies", "Phage pharmacology & therapy", "Membrane lipid remodelling confers polymyxin resistance in Gram-negative bacteria", "The benefits of routine-based sequencing of pathogens and "Viral respiratory tract infections: superinfections".
• ISAC shared the Antibiogram Project, a free training programme provides resources for developing and sharing hospital antibiograms.

Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotic (APUA)
APUA continued to develop activities in line with its aims of ensuring the prudent use of antibiotics which included:
• Three ISAC / APUA newsletters including a special World Antimicrobial Awareness Week issue.
• Antibiotic summary cards – these provide a summary of the main characteristics of selected antibiotics.
• Two position papers on antifungal stewardship and diagnostic stewardship.
• APUA will be opening its membership up in the new year to colleagues working in the field. More information will follow in 2024.

We thank you for your continued support and we wish you a healthy and successful year ahead.

We also hope to see you in Istanbul in November 2024.

With kind regards

Professor Geoff Coombs
President
International Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (ISAC)