History

The World Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (WSPID) emerged in the early 1990s when leaders from the European Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID) and the Sociedad Latinoamericana de Infectología Pediátrica (SLIPE) recognized the opportunity for regional pediatric infectious diseases societies to unite and form a truly global organization.

Professor Napoleón González (SLIPE), Professor Mieke Hoogekamp (ESPID), and Professor Stanley Plotkin of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS) collaborated to explore the vision of an international World Congress.

This shared initiative led to the formal registration of the World Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases as a legal entity in the United States in 1994.  Dr. Napoleon Gonzalez Saldana from Mexico was the founding president of the Society, and the first honorary life member of WSPID, organized the 1st World Congress of WSPID in Acapulco, Mexico, in December 1996.

This year, WSPID celebrated its 30th anniversary. Member societies from around the world contributed reflections, both personal and professional, on the evolution of pediatric infectious diseases.  We invite you to watch or listen to these recordings and explore how the field of PedsID has transformed globally over the past three decades.