The XXII International Poxvirus, Asfarvirus and Iridovirus conference was held in May 2018 in Taipei, Taiwan. The biennial conference brings together researchers working on these specialised large DNA viruses to discuss the latest progress in the field. Highlights of research shared at the XXII conference were the description of role played by septins in the replication of poxviruses, the mechanism by which Vaccinia virus subverts the mTOR pathway to promote viral protein synthesis, and the novel African swine fever virus protein which promotes ubiquitination of proteins in the cell. The next conference in 2020 will be held in Philadelphia.