Fifth meeting of the International Society for STD Research

The fifth meeting of the International Society for STD Research was held at the Seattle Sheraton Hotel on 1-3 August 1983. It was preceded by a clinical update course on Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) held on 31 July 1983 at the same hotel. About 300 participants took part in a lively meeting in which the current state of knowledge of several sexually transmitted diseases and syndromes were reviewed by experts in their particular fields. The standards of the papers and their presentation was very high and many lively discussions had to be curtailed by the chairman because of lack of time. Dr King Holmes of Seattle reviewed the whole field of STDs, and suggested that we might now be seeing the emergence of a third generation of STDs, of which the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was the first and most striking example. He also drew attention to the recent clarification of several STD syndromes such as genital ulcer disease, lower genital tract infection in women, pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy and infertility, fetal and neonatal infections, and genital neoplastic disease and its relation to certain viral infections. The review was very detailed but only included conditions which were increasing in incidence or remaining very prevalent. For example, no mention was made of the virtual disappearance