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IDWeek is the premier joint annual scientific meeting convening clinicians, research investigators, and public health practitioners in infectious diseases and healthcare epidemiology. Organized jointly by four major scientific societies—the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA), and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS)—IDWeek provides a major international venue for disseminating clinical trial findings, translational microbiological research, and outbreak epidemiology. For researchers working in epidemiological science, the conference serves as an essential channel for presenting peer-reviewed abstracts published in an official supplement to Open Forum Infectious Diseases (OFID).
What it is
IDWeek is an integrated academic and clinical congress held each autumn in the United States. Established to unite overlapping disciplines that previously held independent national conventions, IDWeek consolidates scientific tracks spanning adult and pediatric clinical infectious diseases, healthcare-associated infection prevention, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), viral pathogenesis, and global epidemic control. By bridging clinical management with population surveillance, the meeting supports investigators evaluating intervention frameworks across epidemiology and public health systems.
The academic core of IDWeek consists of peer-reviewed oral abstract presentations, structured poster exhibitions, named state-of-the-art lectures, and clinical workshop symposia. Accepted abstracts are formally recognized as scientific publications, permanently indexed, and citable in academic literature through Oxford Academic and the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
Who runs it and what it covers
IDWeek is governed and managed by a joint leadership committee comprising representatives from its four founding partner societies, frequently collaborating with affiliate professional groups such as the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP):
- Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA): Represents physicians, scientists, and healthcare professionals specializing in infectious diseases, overseeing major clinical guidelines and journal publishing.
- Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA): Focuses on infection prevention, hospital epidemiology, antimicrobial stewardship, and antibiotic resistance mitigation within healthcare facilities.
- HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA): Represents medical professionals and clinical researchers dedicated to HIV care, prevention, and policy.
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS): Represents specialists addressing infectious diseases in infants, children, and adolescents, leading pediatric clinical trials and immunization studies.
The scientific program encompasses five core thematic domains:
- Clinical Infectious Diseases: Diagnostic advances, therapeutic drug monitoring, clinical trials of novel antimicrobials, and management of opportunistic infections.
- Healthcare Epidemiology and Antimicrobial Stewardship: Surveillance of nosocomial pathogens, infection prevention bundles, diagnostic stewardship, and institutional antibiotic utilization tracking.
- HIV and Viral Hepatitis: Antiretroviral therapies, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), long-acting formulations, viral resistance mutations, and co-infection management.
- Vaccinology and Immunization: Phase I–IV clinical trial readouts, real-world vaccine effectiveness monitoring, and pediatric immunization schedules.
- Microbial Pathogenesis and Diagnostics: Rapid molecular diagnostics, whole-genome sequencing in outbreak tracing, metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS), and biosafety handling aligned with institutional biosafety containment levels.
Annual Meeting Schedule and Venues (Date-Stamped)
IDWeek rotates annually among major convention facilities across North America. The official locations and scheduled dates for recent and upcoming assemblies are documented below:
| Year | Meeting Edition | Scheduled Dates | Host City and Venue | Program Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | IDWeek 2024 | October 16–20, 2024 | Los Angeles, California (Los Angeles Convention Center) | In-person with virtual on-demand content |
| 2025 | IDWeek 2025 | October 19–22, 2025 | Atlanta, Georgia (Georgia World Congress Center) | Hybrid scientific congress |
| 2026 | IDWeek 2026 | October 21–24, 2026 | Washington, D.C. (Walter E. Washington Convention Center) | Hybrid scientific congress |
| 2027 | IDWeek 2027 | October 6–9, 2027 | Boston, Massachusetts (Boston Convention and Exhibition Center) | Hybrid scientific congress |
How to search or use it
Researchers interact with IDWeek through three primary interfaces: abstract submission, the on-site and virtual interactive program, and the citable Open Forum Infectious Diseases (OFID) abstract archive. The following workflow outlines participation for submitting authors and literature researchers:
- Prepare and Submit Scientific Abstracts: Authors submit structured abstracts (Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion) via the official IDWeek submission portal hosted on idweek.org during the regular spring submission window (typically opening in February and closing in early May). Authors select relevant category tracks (e.g., Epidemiology, Adult Clinical, Pediatric, Diagnostic Microbiology).
- Submit Late-Breaker Research: For rapidly evolving clinical trials or outbreak investigations where data mature after the general deadline, investigators submit during the competitive late-breaker window in late summer (closing in early August). Retrospective studies are strictly excluded from late-breaker review.
- Navigate the Interactive Program: Registered attendees and institutional subscribers query the IDWeek Interactive Program by track, session type (Symposium, Oral Abstract, Poster), speaker, or pathogen. Sessions can be saved to personal itineraries via the official IDWeek mobile app.
- Retrieve Citable Abstracts via the OFID Supplement: Accepted and presented abstracts are published in an open-access supplement of Open Forum Infectious Diseases (OFID), published by Oxford University Press. Researchers can search this repository using PubMed, PMC, or Oxford Academic to retrieve individual abstract citations complete with author affiliations and study data.
- Access On-Demand Session Recordings: Virtual and in-person registrants log into the IDWeek virtual learning platform to access recorded symposia, slide decks, and digital posters, typically accessible for 12 months following the live meeting.
Strengths and limits
Evaluating IDWeek’s operational strengths and boundaries helps research offices determine attendance, submission strategies, and dissemination channels.
Strengths
- Comprehensive Multi-Society Breadth: Integrating IDSA, SHEA, HIVMA, and PIDS under one roof eliminates specialty fragmentation, enabling clinical microbiologists, epidemiologists, and pediatricians to collaborate directly.
- Citable Open-Access Dissemination: Publishing accepted abstracts in the OFID supplement ensures that preliminary findings receive permanent digital object identifiers (DOIs) and full indexing on PubMed and Google Scholar.
- High-Visibility Late-Breaker Platform: Serves as a premier US venue for late-stage clinical trial findings, vaccine updates, and emerging pathogen surveillance data.
Limits
- North American Clinical and Regulatory Focus: While international investigators attend, guideline discussions, therapeutic approvals, and clinical practice policies predominantly reflect United States FDA regulations and CDC guidance.
- High Registration and Travel Costs: Commercial conference registration fees and travel expenses can pose significant budgetary barriers for low- and middle-income country (LMIC) researchers, although competitive travel grants and virtual registration options mitigate this constraint.
- Abstract Non-Peer-Reviewed Status for Final Findings: Meeting abstracts represent preliminary research readouts; subsequent publication in full peer-reviewed journal articles is required to confirm full methodological rigor and statistical validation.
Alternatives
Depending on geographic focus, specialty emphasis, and publication goals, infectious disease investigators also submit to and attend alternative international congresses.
| Conference / Platform | Organizing Body | Primary Focus | Geographic Base | Abstract Publishing Outlet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IDWeek | IDSA, SHEA, HIVMA, PIDS | Clinical infectious diseases, hospital epidemiology, HIV, pediatrics | United States (Rotating cities) | Open Forum Infectious Diseases (OFID) Supplement |
| ESCMID Global (formerly ECCMID) | European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases | Clinical microbiology, antimicrobial resistance, European clinical ID | Europe (Rotating cities) | Clinical Microbiology and Infection (CMI) Supplement / ESCMID eLibrary |
| CROI (Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections) | IAS-USA | HIV, viral hepatitis, SARS-CoV-2, translational retrovirology | United States (Rotating cities) | CROI Abstract E-Book / Topics in Antiviral Medicine |
| SHEA Spring Conference | Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America | Dedicated hospital infection prevention and healthcare epidemiology | United States | Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology (ICHE) Proceedings |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is IDWeek?
IDWeek is the joint annual scientific meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA), and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS), presenting scientific breakthroughs in clinical infectious diseases and epidemiology.
Where are IDWeek abstracts published and indexed?
All accepted and presented IDWeek abstracts are formally published in an open-access supplement of Open Forum Infectious Diseases (OFID), an academic journal published by Oxford University Press. Abstracts are indexed in PubMed and PubMed Central (PMC), providing citable academic records.
What societies organize IDWeek?
IDWeek is jointly organized by four founding professional bodies: the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA), and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS), with additional collaboration from the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP).
Can researchers submit late-breaking research to IDWeek?
Yes. IDWeek hosts an annual late-breaker abstract submission window in late summer for novel clinical trial readouts and outbreak investigations whose data could not have been completed by the regular spring deadline. Retrospective research studies are not eligible for late-breaker submission.
Sources
- IDWeek, “About IDWeek,” https://idweek.org/about/ (accessed 2026-11-07).
- IDWeek, “Abstract Guidelines and Submission Information,” https://idweek.org/abstracts/ (accessed 2026-11-07).
- IDWeek, “Annual Program Information and Key Dates,” https://idweek.org/program/ (accessed 2026-11-07).
- Open Forum Infectious Diseases (OFID) / Oxford University Press, “IDWeek Abstract Supplement,” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10619864/ (accessed 2026-11-07).
