If your answer to any of these questions is "yes", you should consider attending the 3rd Tofo Advanced Study Week on Emerging and Re-Emerging Viruses, which will take place from September 02 to September 06, 2018, at Praia do Tofo, Inhambane, Mozambique. The conference is organized by Professor Rolf Hilgenfeld, University of Lübeck (Germany), in collaboration with the Instituto Nacional de Saúde, the National Institute of Health of Mozambique (Scientific Director: Dr. Eduardo Samo Gudo). The meeting builds on the big successes of the 2015 Tofo Advanced Study Week on Ebola and Other Filoviruses (see www.ebola- conference.org) and the 2016 Tofo Advanced study Week on Arboviruses (www.emerging-viruses.org/Arbovirus). Please see two comments of participants of these conferences below and many more on the guestbook subpage of the conference webpage.

The focus of the meeting will be on (re-)emerging viruses of all kinds, for example, Dengue, Zika, West Nile and Yellow Fever or Rift Valley Fever and coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, as well as influenza or Respiratory Syncytial viruses.

The following scientific sessions are planned for each virus family:

- Epidemiology
- Molecular virology
- Differential diagnostics
- Immunology
- Vaccine development
- Development of antivirals
- Vector control
- Public health issues (incl. outbreak responses)

We will have an interesting scientific program featuring well-known speakers who are leaders in their field (see the conference webpage, under "Confirmed speakers"). The Scientific Committee of the conference is headed by Drs. Pei-Yong Shi and Sina Bavari.

The number of participants will be limited to a maximum of 55, in order to enable most efficient and robust discussions in a familiar atmosphere. The 55 slots available at this meeting will be allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis. The conference venue, Hotel Tofo Mar, is a recently renovated boutique hotel situated directly on the beautiful Indian Ocean beaches of Tofo. Tofo is a divers' paradise (with one of the largest populations of whale sharks and manta rays on Earth) and offers a relaxed atmosphere, enabling you to combine excellent science with a well-deserved holiday. Tofo is only 21 km from the airport of Inhambane, which has flights from Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. Maputo can be reached by direct flights from

Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Doha, and Istanbul, all of which are international hubs served by many airlines from Europe, Asia, and America.

Conference participants will either stay in Hotel Tofo Mar or in one of the many guesthouses and lodges on or near Tofo beach. All classes of accommodation, from dormitory to luxury, will be available.

Stipends will be available to support the participation of scientists from low-income countries and of PhD / MD students from anywhere in the world. Our local travel agency, Terra Agua Ceu Lda., will offer pre- and post-conference tours to the Kruger National Park in South Africa. One of their tours to the Kruger starts in Maputo (Mozambique) and ends at Johannesburg International Airport, from where you could catch your flight home. The travel agency can also assist you in booking accommodation and flights.

Looking forward to seeing you at the "3rd Tofo Advanced Study Week on Emerging and Re-Emerging Viruses" at Tofo Beach in September, 2018!

With best regards,
Rolf Hilgenfeld, Professor of Biochemistry, University of Lübeck, Germany

Eduardo Samo Gudo, Dr., Scientific Director, Instituto Nacional de Saúde, Maputo, Mozambique