SWISS MADE: ERS International Congress, Munich, 6-10 September 2014
ERS / European Respiratory Society/ with its head office in LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND, is focusing on advocacy for better respiratory health.
The total cost of respiratory disease in the 28 countries of the European Union exceeds a staggering 380 billion EUR. The mission of the ERS is to alleviate suffering from respiratory disease and promote lung health through research, sharing of knowledge, and medical as public education.
The ERS was founded in 1990. Open to clinicians, scientist and other health professionals, the society draws its members from every continent and plays a leading role in improving standarts of respiratora care in Europe and beyond. Its activities around four pillars: CONGRESS, publications, advocacy, education and the European Lung Foundation (ELF) as its public voice.
In last years in terms of preventing respiratory diseases, the ERS is repeatedly recommending that EU do more to combat the rising burden of chronic respiratory diseases by emphasising prevention policies. The key topics in this push air are air emissions and limit values and bold interventions that promote effective tobacco control.
The ERS & Health Committee organised an expert workshop to discuss the health impact of biomass burning.
A high-level public awareness in the last year was the launch of the ERS/ELF joint publication “Facts and Figures”. This is an infographic version of the revised and updated ERS White Book. The event was endorsed by the Lithuanian Presidency of the European Union.
The INTERNATIONAL ERS CONGRESS is the central event of the Society’s year and the largest Congress on respiratory in the world.
MUNICH is a fitting choice for the 24th ERS Congress with a long history of science and innovation. Munich has been home to many eminent scientists, including Einstein, Heisenberg and, appropriately for an ERS host city, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, father of the X-ray. It hosts an array of highly regarded universities and research institutes - including one of the five coordinating centres of the German Centre for Lung Research - and is home to the Fraunhofer Society, Germany’s research organisation devoted to applied science.
During this Congress, the European Respiratory Society /ERS/, together with the European Lung Foundation /ELF/ launched a new lung health campaign called “Healthy Lungs for Life”.Inside the Congress it was arranged a special stand, and outside the Congress, in the central square, the Odeonplatz, an exhibition and live acts made a real lung health festival., where also the public’s lung health was testing for free.
Over 4200 abstracts have been accepted this year, which covered areas such as TB, lung cancer, air pollution, personalised medicine, stem cell treatments and risk factors for lung disease.
Finally, it was created the Fellowship of the ERS to recognise excellence in respiratory research, and the first 200 Fellows /FERS/ have been announced at this Congress.
Stephen Holgate, Science Council Chair: “We are proud of the Programme we have been able to assemble for the Congress in Munich. And remember that ERS is active throughout the year with variuos events and ongoing projects and activities…meet with us at any time on www.ersnet.org!”
Autorin: Daiva Petrosiene