ISPID is an amalgamation of the European Society for the Study and Prevention of Infant Death (ESPID) and the SIDS Global Strategy Task Force (GSTF). With the merger of two scientific societies dedicated to the prevention of sudden infant death and research into its causes, it seems prudent to briefly review the history of the two societies which have now been merged. These overviews have been compiled by Karl Bentele, Hamburg, Germany, and Henry Krous, San Diego CA, USA.

A short history of ESPID

The European Society for the Study and Prevention of Infant Deaths (ESPID) was founded in 1991 in Rouen, France. Under the auspices of WHO Europe and the European Economic Community (EEC), the founding conference gathered scientists from all over Europe, including central and eastern European countries, as well as from Non-European countries such as the USA, the USSR, Greenland, Australia and New Zealand. More than 350 scientists from 27 countries, speaking 19 different languages, were present to establish this new European society.

In order to prepare this founding congress, an informal meeting of paediatricians and scientists of different fields of research concerned with infant development, morbidity and mortality had already been organised by André Kahn in 1990. André was perceived by all of us as the spiritus rector and driving force of this new scientific society at that time. The members of the steering committee entrusted with the preparation of the new society were (in alphabetic order) Karl Bentele (Germany), John Emery, chairman (United Kingdom), Karin Hellweg-Larsen (Denmark), Johannes Huber (Netherlands), Lorentz M. Irgens (Norway), Paul Johnson (United Kingdom), André Kahn, secretary (Belgium), and Maria Michaleli (Greece).

This steering committee strongly felt that a joint European research effort could best be coordinated within and by a newly structured multidisciplinary and multinational society named the European Society for the Study and Prevention of Infant Death (ESPID). The aims of this new society were to focus on the study and prevention of all kinds of infant deaths, not only sudden infant death, as well as on normal and abnormal infant development. In order to accomplish these tasks effectively, 5 permanent working groups were formed and each one entrusted to three officers:

1. Epidemiology and Public Health
   (R. G. Carpenter, UK; L. M. Irgens, Norway, E. Taylor, UK)
2. Clinical Problems
   (K. Bentele, FRG; E. Mallet, France; A. de Broca, France)
3. Pathology
   (J. Berry, UK; K. Hellweg-Larsen, DK; J. Huber, NL)
4. Physiology
   (R. Haidmayer, Austria; P. Johnson, UK; D. Southall, UK)
5. Psycho-Social Problems
   (K. Blueglass, UK; D. Dorival, France; J. Powell, UK).

These elected heads of the 5 working groups, assisted by the Executive Board, formed the Scientific Board of the ESPID. Elected Members of the Executive Board were:

• President: A. Kahn (Belgium)
• Vice President: K. Hellweg-Larsen (Denmark)
• Secretary General: K. Bentele (Germany)
• Treasurer: R. Haidmayer (Austria)
• Member at large: J. Emery (United Kingdom)
• Member at large: E. Mallet (France)

Beside the Executive Board, a Coordinating Board had been established in order to connect the ESPID with representatives from the European parent organisation, formerly SIDS Family Europe.

During the ESPID Conference in Graz in 1995, elections were held as stated in the bylaws. Members of the new Executive Board were:

• President: K. Bentele (Germany)
• Vice-President: T. O. Rognum (Norway)
• Secretary General: G. Jorch (Germany)
• Treasurer: R. Haidmayer (Austria)
• Member at large: J. Emery (United Kingdom)
• Member at large: J. Berry (United Kingdom)
• Member at large: E. Mallet (France)
• Co-opted Member: S. Chantler (United Kingdom)
• Past President: A. Kahn (Belgium).

The newly elected heads of the permanent working groups were:

• Clinical Problems: A. Kahn (Belgium), A. de Broca (France), C. Poets (Germany)
• Physiology: R. Haidmayer (Austria), H. Lagercrantz (Sweden), P. Johnson (United Kingdom)
• Pathology: T. O. Rognum (Norway), J. Huber (Netherlands), C. Rambaud (France)
• Epidemiology and Public Health: R. G. Carpenter (United Kingdom), L. M. Irgens (Norway), Ch. Einspieler (Austria)
• Psychosocial Aspekts: K. Blueglass (United Kingdom), M. L´Hoir (Netherlands), H. Brooks (Scotland)
• Molecular Biology: A. Coquerel (France)

Since the Founding Congress in 1991, ESPID conferences had been organized annually, and from 1999 on biannually, by one of her members with support of the ESPID:

• 1992 Lübeck (Germany)
• 1993 Oxford (United Kingdom)
• 1994 Stavanger (Norway; joint meeting with SIDS International)
• 1995 Graz (Austria)
• 1996 Kosice (Slowak Republic)
• 1997 Barcelona (Spain)
• 1999 Jerusalem (Israel)
• 2001 Istanbul (Turkey)
• 2003 Oslo (Norway)

During the Istanbul Conference in 2001, members had been informed about the results of the 2nd elections of the ESPID. The new Executive Board consisted of:

• President: Torleiv O. Rognum (Norway)
• Vice President: Joseph Milerad
• Secretary General: Christian F. Poets (Germany)
• Treasurer: Martin Schlaud (Germany)
• Member at large: Jem P Berry
• Member at large: Jens Grogaard
• Past President: Karl Bentele (Germany)

From then on, the ESPID co-operated more closely with SIDS International and helped to organise the scientific parts of the SIDS International conferences, which took place in:

• 2000 Auckland (New Zealand)
• 2002 Florence (Italy)
• 2004 Edmonton (Canada).

Between these conferences, Annual General Meetings were held on the occasion of an annual SIDS meeting organized by Torleiv Rognum in Oslo. In 2003, ESPID's board agreed to merge with the Global Strategy Task Force (GSTF) of SIDS International. The board of SIDS International had also unanimously approved to go ahead with the merger. This was prepared to become effective in 2004. The name of the new society was to become ISPID, the International Society of the Study and Prevention of Infant Death.

A short history of the GSTF

Conceived by Kaarene Fitzgerald of Melbourne, Australia, the Global Strategy Task Force (GSTF) held its first meeting in 1992 following the second SIDS International Conference in Sydney, Australia. It was composed of "an independent group of SIDS researcher, clinicians, and educationalists interested in networking their efforts on an international level to enhance SIDS research and education. The participants were actively committed to finding the cause(s) and prevention of SIDS." [1] The GSTF was jointly organised by members of SIDS International and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA, and sponsored by the Sudden Infant Death Research Foundation, Victoria, Australia, and the NIH. Members of SIDS International and SIDS investigators from around the world came together every two years to strategise means to enhance research, promulgate international support for parents and other survivors of SIDS, and provide public education about SIDS.

Five working groups were established to achieve these goals: Epidemiology and Risk Factors, Pathology, Developmental Physiology, Immunology/Infection, and Education and Training. Each of these groups developed an agenda and action plan and reported on its activities at each of the GSTF Meetings that were held in association with the SIDS International meetings. The Epidemiology Working Group focused on standardised mortality reporting, child care practices, ethics, and international communication. The Pathology Group centered its activities on the development and implementation of a standardised autopsy protocol, and recommendations to adopt the Centers for Disease Control Guidelines for Death Scene Investigation in Sudden, Unexplained Infant Deaths, and to adopt an internationally acceptable definition for SIDS. It also participated in GSTF position statements. The Developmental Physiology Group focused on the role of prone sleep position increasing the risk for SIDS, the ability of infants to maintain homeostasis in response to potentially dangerous stimuli, the physiologic basis for epidemiologic risk factors, and the adequacy of hospital-based physiologic studies of infants to represent the home environment. The Infection/Immunology Group addressed the potential role and contribution of infection, inflammation, and cytokines in the mechanism of death in SIDS. The Education Group strategised means to disseminate information about SIDS to the public, parent support groups, and medical and allied health educational programs.

The GSTF accomplished many of its original goals and its mission will be continued through its amalgamation with the European Society for the Prevention of Infant Death (ESPID).

References

1. Fitzgerald K. Globally Tackling the SIDS Enigma: The Global Strategy Task Force. J SIDS Inf Mort 1996; 1: 67-69.
2. Bentele KHP. The European Society for the Study and Prevention of Infant Death (ISPID). J SIDS Inf Mort 1996; 1: 141-144. [PDF, 20 KB]
3. Kahn A. The European Society for the Study and Prevention of Infant Death (ISPID). Biol Neonate 1992; 61: 259-270. [PDF, 13 KB]
4. Poets CF. In memory of André Kahn.