Prof. Dr. Tobias Welte and PD Dr. Hendrik Suhling presented the first edition of our online expert session and were on hand to deal with the questions posed by the participants. In his talk, Dr. Suhling reported on the status of the new Asthma Guidelines 2020 and also addressed the influence of the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen on asthmatic diseases. His hints on dealing with patients with various phenotypes of the disease were met with particular interest.
In his presentation, Professor Welte dealt with the ever-present subject of SARS-CoV-2 and in various examples clarified the differences between the influenza pathogens and the new coronavirus. He spoke about the numbers of occurrence of infection and of mortality due to the Covid-19 disease. In a direct comparison, he showed that the diseases caused by influenza viruses and by SARS CoV-2 viruses can be clearly differentiated. Although approaches for the treatment of  Covid-19 patients can be derived from the treatment of influenza patients, a one-to-one transfer is not possible. Prof. Welte pointed out clearly that the disease is to be taken seriously, even in younger patients, and the recommended measures regarding distancing and covering the mouth and nose must be adhered to. 
The consistently positive feedback from the around 60 participants has shown us that the online format is a good alternative to our established expert forums. We will therefore continue with this series of events. One date that has already been fixed is 10.02.2021. On that day, Dr. Suhling will be hosting an event on the subject of Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases. Further information will follow shortly on our homepage.