When we were setting the theme of "infection control dilemmas and practical solutions" for this symposium, we asked ourselves a basic question: What are some of the most vexing problems and situations facing the hospital microbiologist epidemiologist team in today's world of opportunistic and new infectious diseases unheard of as common pathogenic occurrences 10 years ago? One of the areas which we immediately focused upon was the tremendous amount of time, energy, and financial resources that are presently being expended to satisfy the requirements mandated by the recognition of the danger...