Meeting the challenge of invasive fungal infections: part 2

The 23rd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 2013 Berlin, Germany, 27-30 April 2013. This second and final installment of the report on the 23rd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases follows on from Part 1, published in the September 2013 (volume 8, issue 9) issue of Future Microbiology. Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are a well-recognized complication in immunocompromised patients, with neutropenic patients with leukemia and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients at especially high risk. Early diagnosis of IFIs is essential, since delaying the initiation of adequate antifungal therapy increases the risk of death. The rapid diagnosis, and effective treatment and prophylaxis of IFIs were among the topics discussed during the 2013 conference of the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2013).