The World of Microbes 2002: scientific advances and challenges--impressions and highlights from the 12th Congress of Virology.

Thousands of scientists participated in the World of Microbes Congress, which was organized by the International Union of the Microbiological Societies (IUMS) and took place in the Palais de Congres in Paris, France from 27 July to 1 August 2002. The attendees were members of the IUMS divisions of Bacteriology and Applied Microbiology, Mycology, and Virology. In addition to the symposia that were organized by each division, joined plenary symposia were held, which encompassed subjects of common interest to all microbiologists. The activities at the 12th Congress of Virology's plenary lectures, symposia, and poster sessions were organized to accommodate the presentation of over 1500 presentations. These brief comments are aimed to provide a sample of only a few presentations that dealt with subjects of emerging and re-emerging virus diseases, which are of general interest.