The second International Conference on Opportunistic Pathogens in AIDS was organized by the Department of Laboratory Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (New Delhi, India). The conference was held at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in India between the 27th and 29th January 2008, and was attended by 225 participants representing 21 countries. The conference focused on trends, diagnosis and management of coinfections among HIV patients. In addition, as part of this conference, a symposium was held on the links between substance abuse, HIV and neuropathology.