The Vanguard of Paediatric Protection: Innovation, Vigilance, and the Oral Frontier

Abstract

The 43rd Annual Meeting of the European Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID), held in the historic and vibrant city of Bucharest from May 26th to 30th, 2025, convened at a watershed moment for global child health. As the world moves further away from the acute disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the landscape of paediatric infections has not simply returned to its prior state; rather, it has transformed into a complex arena defined by technological breakthroughs in vaccine delivery, the aggressive re-emergence of classic pathogens, and a deepening understanding of the host-pathogen interface at the mucosal level. This year’s proceedings in Bucharest have underscored a fundamental truth: while our technological toolkit is expanding at an unprecedented rate, our success in protecting the world’s most vulnerable population, its children, depends entirely on our ability to integrate high-tech precision with old-school clinical vigilance.