The Lancefield International Symposium on Streptococci and Streptococcal Diseases (LISSSD) is held generally once in every 3 years and this is the XVIth in the series. It is the first time that the Symposium is held in Australia and only the second time in the southern hemisphere. The meeting provides a platform to discuss recent developments in the areas of streptococcus pathogens, host immunity and susceptibility, disease mechanisms, diseases burden, clinical findings, change in epidemiology, comparative epidemiology, novel vaccine and other preventive strategies. The general theme is how multidisciplinary approaches are bringing a greater understanding of an old, but still dangerous pathogen. Streptococcal disease burden is exceptionally high among the Australian Indigenous population. In some ways the epidemiology and disease burden may be comparable to that found in many developing nations.
