News from the ERS Congress

The European Respiratory Society’s Congress took place in Vienna, Austria this month (September 2024). It provides an opportunity for the European Respiratory Society and European Lung Foundation to collaborate together to promote the latest research in the field and showcases messages about the importance of respiratory health to policymakers and the public in the host city. It also allows consortia from EU-funded projects to meet together and share results.

Here’s a roundup of news from this year’s event:

Healthy Lungs for Life in Vienna

The Healthy Lungs for Life campaign is a global awareness campaign by ELF and the European Respiratory Society (ERS), which focuses on 5 key themes to improve lung health for all.

Activities kicked off on 7 September, the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies. The team offered free lung tests in front of the Giant Ferris Wheel in the Vienna Prater. Medically trained volunteers were also on hand to provide tips on how participants can improve their lung health.

As part of the campaign, hundreds of school children also had the opportunity to get their lungs tested for free and take part in interactive workshops. It is hoped that this approach will teach young children the importance of maintaining their lungs and encourage them to make healthy decisions. Since many lung diseases can start in childhood, it is especially important to raise awareness of what this age group can do to keep their lungs healthy and reduce the burden of disease in the future.

Find out more about our activities

The events could take place thanks to support from the Clean Air Fund and CADSET.

EU-project sessions and events 

• The LungHealth4Life project officially kicked off with its first meeting of partners. The project brings together lung function testing, health promotion and disease prevention in schools.
• SOLACE shared milestones from the project in a number of sessions as well as showcasing promotional material from the Lungs Europe stand in the World Village.
• FRESHAIR4Life was showcased in the World Village on the Lungs Europe and International Primary Care Respiratory Group stands.
• Value-dx shared results in a session looking the value of in vitro diagnostic tests to reduce antimicrobial resistance and to improve patient outcomes
• FAIR hosted a session on flagellin aerosol therapy as an immunomodulatory adjunct to the antibiotic treatment of drug-resistant bacterial pneumonia
• ECRAID-Base held a postgraduate course on the management of respiratory infection.

Working in partnership with key stakeholders 

This year’s event saw important collaborations between different stakeholders in respiratory health.

• ERS and ELF welcomed Dr Maria Neira to Vienna. Dr Neira, Director of Public Health, Environment and Social Determinants of Health at the World Health Organization,  welcomed delegates to the Congress and celebrated the launch of the Healthy Lungs for Life campaign.
• The last day of Congress is dedicated to advocacy topics with relevance for all respiratory stakeholders. The sessions put a spotlight on:
  • An evidence update and strategies for respiratory physicians and patients facing climate induced wildfire air pollution.
  • Initiatives from the rare disease network; ERN-LUNG
  • How to advance respiratory care delivery from the International Respiratory Coalition
  • Public health approach to preventing lung disease before it starts

Find out more about these sessions