The International Congress on Rapid Methods and Automation in Microbiology and Immunology, held in 1990 (RAMI-90) in Helsinki- Espoo, Finland, attracted considerable interest from the international scientific community. This reflects both the rapid progress and numerous new challenges in the field covered by RAMI-90. New biotechnical approaches, such as the polymerase chain reaction, recombinant gene products and synthetic peptides are gaining wide...