Mission & Objectives


Forensic microbiology is a new discipline involving different fields of microbiology all of them related to medico-legal issues and forensic sciences. Apart from bioterrorism, forensic microbiology can have a role in: i) investigation of the cause of death, in sudden unexpected deaths, including cardiac death, and when a malpractice investigation is required; ii) pathogens transmission related to medico-legal queries, some of them associated with sexual assaults; iii) body fluid identification in criminal cases; iv) estimation of the post-mortem interval; v) linking a crime scene or a victim with the assailant and vi) transplantation issues. However, guidelines and standardization for these analyses are lacking.

With the aim of promoting standardization and research in the field of forensic microbiology, the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) officially launched the ESCMID Study Group of Forensic and Post-mortem Microbiology (ESGFOR) in October 2014. Establishment of European guidance for standardized microbiological sampling, testing methods and results interpretation in forensic cases and cooperation between microbiologists, pathologists and other specialists with shared points of interest are the main ESGFOR’s objectives.

ESGFOR is open to professionals with various fields of expertise. ESGFOR welcomes any person interested in ancient DNA, phylogenetics, organ and tissue transplants, biosafety and bioterrorism. All ESGFOR experts share a common interest, public health and prevention of preventable causes of death.