About the conference

The European Scientific Conference on Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology (ESCAIDE) is an annual conference which aims at strengthening the prevention and control of communicable disease through the sharing of knowledge, experience and contacts. It also provides opportunities for further professional development for fellows and students.

ESCAIDE is composed of a broad programme of sessions.

The scientific content of the conference primarily consists of plenary sessions, and oral and poster abstract presentations, which form a platform for the sharing of scientific advances. The content of the abstract sessions is determined through a scientifically independent process, driven by submitted abstracts, selected on the basis of assessment by three different independent reviewers. The reviewers are selected by their scientific expertise and lack of conflicting interests. The body which oversees this process and proposes the plenary sessions is the ESCAIDE Scientific Committee.

Side events at ESCAIDE are run by external organisers, including the EPIET Alumni Network and Eurosurveillance journal, and take many formats to create dynamic opportunities for skill development, networking and knowledge sharing at ESCAIDE. Find out more about the Events at ESCAIDE.

Objectives

The aims of ESCAIDE are:

sharing of scientific knowledge and experience in all areas applied to infectious disease epidemiology, public health microbiology and related scientific fields;
discussing and debating scientific advances and current public health challenges;
strengthening and expanding the human network of all involved in this field in Europe and globally;
providing opportunities for further professional development for fellows and students in this field, e.g. EPIET, EUPHEM, FETP and other national/international training programmes.

Audience

ESCAIDE is an event to serve the entire community of scientists and professionals dedicated to infectious disease prevention and control, in the EU/EEA and globally.

This includes, but not limited to, epidemiologists, veterinarians, microbiologists, clinicians, public health professionals, communication specialists, modelers, statisticians, social scientists and policy makers.

Principles

The Conference is based on the following principles:

applying scientific independence and integrity;
increasing the EU added value;
strengthening the relationship with stakeholders;
showcasing scientific leadership and innovation; and
maintaining high social and community values, i.e. inclusivity, equality and respect.

History

Origins of the conference

The Conference has evolved from the Scientific Seminars held each year to give the EPIET fellows the opportunity to present their work in a scientific conference style. As the quantity and quality of the presentations and posters increased over time, it was decided to transform this event into a scientific conference which is open to the wider community of communicable disease epidemiologists and public health experts. In 2007, the Conference was given its current name (ESCAIDE) and the management was taken over by ECDC.

Host cities

The inaugural ESCAIDE was held in Stockholm in 2007, the home of the ECDC headquarters. Between 2007 and 2012, the conference alternated between Stockholm and a city of an EU/EEA Member State, with Berlin hosting in 2008, Lisbon in 2010 and Edinburgh in 2012. Between 2013 and 2017, the conference was held in Stockholm.

ESCAIDE 2018 took place in Saint Julian’s, Malta, resuming the biannual hosting in Member States. In 2020 the conference was planned to take place in Warsaw, however due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference switched to an online event, which continued in 2021.

ESCAIDE 2022 was held as a hybrid event for the first time, in Stockholm and online.