Abstract
Infectious diseases can affect the previously healthy adolescent as well as severely immuno‐compromised intensive care unit patients. The effects may be merely annoying, but in many cases they can become life‐threatening. The immediate impact of infectious diseases on everyday life can be seen with Helicobacter pylori, which infects more than 50% of the global population, or Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes a major tick‐borne disease in Europe and America. On the other hand, in less‐developed countries, infections causing diarrhea are still among the most important causes of death – especially in children. Research in Medical Microbiology ranges from attempts to better understand the physiology and ecology of the causative agents to epidemiological typing of clinical isolates. It covers the mutual interactions of pathogenic microbes as well as the interplay between microorganism and host. Among the most pressing problems in medical microbiology is the emerging of antibiotic resistances. In recent years, both Gram‐positive bacteria – with the first description of vancomycin resistant Staphylococcus aureus – as well as Gram‐negative species – e.g. with the emergence of extended spectrum beta‐lactamases – have seen new and dramatic occurrences of resistance. Consequently, the detection and characterization of new antimicrobial compounds is, more than ever, an important task. All these topics are covered by the research articles compiled in this Special Issue of the Journal of Basic Microbiology. Further, the publication of this Special Issue should underline the importance of “Basic Microbiology” for “Medical Microbiology”: The sometimes existing gap between basic research and application needs to be bridged urgently and in a time‐saving manner as often as possible. We are convinced that only combined efforts of experts in both areas will allow us to tackle future's problems in infectious diseases efficiently (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)