2 - 5 November 2010, Sousse, Tunisia

Course Objectives

• Review the present knowledge on microbiology and epidemiology of Coxiella, Anaplasma, Rickettsia and Bartonella infections and their vectors.
• Be able to diagnose and treat these infections.
• Understand the limits and advantages of the approaches routinely used for the diagnosis of these intracellular bacteria.
• Demonstrate through interactive sessions the steps to diagnose and treat rickettsial diseases.

Course Venue

Tej Marhaba Hotel, Sousse, Tunisia

Target Audience

20 -25 infectious diseases and clinical microbiology specialists, PhD students and clinicians interested by intracellular pathogens and infections.

Registration Procedure

Please download the registration form (see right column) and return it to the course administrative secretariat by 17 September 2010.

Registration Fee

EUR 540 for ESCMID members

EUR 590 for all others

The fee includes accommodation (5 days, with breakfast), documentation materials and a half day social programme.

Attendance Grants

ESCMID provides a number of attendance grants for young attendees (born in 1970 or later) covering the registration fee, but no travel or accommodation costs. Please submit your application until 1 September 2010 online on this website (see right column). If there are more applicants than available grants, preference will be given to ESCMID members. Applicants will be informed about their acceptance by 8 September 2010.

Please note that attendance grant application does not include registration for the course. Please register separately with the form supplied on the right.

Local Course Coordinator

Amel Letaief Omezzine,
Infectious Diseases Department
CHU Farhat Hached, 4000 Sousse- Tunisia
Phone +216 73 211 183
Fax +216 73 211 183
Amel Letaief

Administrative Secretariat

Habiba Rejeb
Infectious Diseases Department
CHU Farhat Hached, 4000 Sousse- Tunisia
Phone +216 73 211 183
Fax +216 73 211 183
Habiba Rejeb

Course Programme

Lectures will be held in the mornings, the afternoons are reserved for practical courses in two groups and interactive clinical case sessions.

Plenary Lectures:

• Bacteriology, taxonomy and phylogeny of Rickettsia
• Rickettsia: lessons from genomics
• Pathogenesis, immunity and pathophysiology of rickettsial diseases
• Bio-ecology of vectors of rickettsial diseases
• Ecology/epidemiology of Bartonella and Anaplasma
• Spotted fever group rickettsioses
• Bacteriology and immunity of Coxiella burnetii
• Q fever
• Molecular diagnosis of intracellular bacteria
• Diagnostic strategy of intracellular pathogens
• Surveillance of rickettsioses

Interactive clinical cases

Practical sessions:

• Conventional diagnostic methods of rickettsial diseases
• Preparation of specimens for culture and histopathological processing

Course Faculty

• Richard Birtles, Liverpool, UK
• Idir Bitam, Algiers, Algeria
• Ali Bouattour, Tunis, Tunisia
• Philippe Brouqui, Marseille, France
• Marina Eremeeva, Atlanta, US
• Pierre Edouard Fournier, Marseille, France
• Achilleas Gikas, Heraklion, Greece
• Gilbert Greub, Lausanne, Switzerland
• Naoufel Kaabia, Sousse, Tunisia
• Amel Letaief Omezzine, Sousse, Tunisia
• Nadjet Mouffok, Oran, Algeria
• Anna Psaroulaki, Heraklion, Greece
• Abir Znazen, Sfax, Tunisia