LETTERA DI BENVENUTO.pdf

Dear Participants,
It is our pleasure to welcome you to the 9th International Conference on Legionella in
Rome, Italy, from the 26th to 30th of September 2017.
This year we will celebrate forty years since Legionella pneumophila was identified,
after the first outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Philadelphia in 1976.
Since then, we have learnt a lot about these bacteria, we have improved our capability
to conduct appropriate epidemiological investigations, and thanks to geographical
information analysis and typing methods, we are now able to better identify the source
of infection.
We also have recognised the importance of appropriate risk assessment on water systems
in order to rapidly apply the best control measures and adopt different disinfection
procedures, being aware that there is not a single recipe. In fact, every situation must
be thoroughly studied and every intervention must be tailored.
Knowledge on ecological niches of Legionella has been expanded. Moreover, the recent
DNA sequencing technologies to monitor microbial population in water systems appear
to be quite promising for a better understanding of behaviours devised by this intriguing
bacterium to survive in the environment.
Regarding diagnostic methods, the introduction of urinary antigen detection has given
a boost in detecting cases, but the development and validation of other fast and
accurate molecular methods are needed.
The number of identified species is increasing day by day, and in addition to traditional
procedures, integrated multi “omics” technologies help to clarify the molecular basis of
pathogenesis and evolution of most of these species. However, a better understanding
of the interaction between the bacterium and the host, with special reference to the
population at risk, would be desirable.
We consider this International Conference a great opportunity to define state of the art
about all the aspects concerning Legionella, and we do hope that new ideas for future
researches and collaborative studies in this field will arise.
We warmly welcome you to Rome, the “Eternal” city. Here, the ancient Romans laid
the foundations of their empire, leaving spectacular signs in culture, architecture, city
planning, politics and laws, which survived to present day, leaving people coming from
all over the world astonished.
The Local Organising Committee is willing to offer you the best hospitality in terms
of location, accommodation and, last but not least, good food and the opportunity
to choose among a number of guided trips in Rome and surroundings for you and your
accompanying persons.
On behalf of the Conference organisers we sincerely welcome you to the 9th International
Conference on Legionella 2017.
Paola Borella and Maria Luisa Ricci
Chairs, Legionella 2017