Within the past years substantial progress has been made in the identification of human genetic risk factors that may predict the severity of infectious diseases or the risk to develop chronic and malignant diseases. In the future these factors can be complemented by the detailed genetic characterization of the microbiome and virome, which also contribute to diseases emerging in the individual host.

The identification of such individual risk factors is considered an immense chance for prediction and eventually prevention of diseases. However, introducing this approach into clinical management is not comparable with routine diagnostic tests, as it often predicts a risk but not confirms disease, and as it will lead to massive generation of sensible personal data.

During the breakfast we will discuss whether and under which general conditions these genetic analyses could be helpful and implemented in medical diagnostics.

Moderator: Elisabeth Puchhammer-Stöckl, MD, is Professor of Virology and head of the Center for Virology of the Medical University Vienna. She leads a research group with a focus on persistent human viruses and host-virus interactions, with emphasis on translational research. Among other positions, she was president of the European society for Clinical Virology, and is currently board member of different national and international scientific societies and member of the Austrian Health Council.