🧪 🦠 #Mpox virus “acquired during pregnancy should be regarded as a congenital pathogen” particularly in the first trimester MBOTE-SK project followed 89 pregnant women in DR Congo @labgenpath.bsky.social @ispm.unibe.ch @itmantwerp.bsky.social 🧵 1/2 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Our vision of equal chances of a healthy life for all is only possibly when the #right to provide and receive #healthcare is upheld everywhere, even in armed #conflicts. @itmantwerp.bsky.social www.itg.be/en/statement...

Last week, we welcomed Dr Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa, and Dr Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, to ITM. 🌍 We exchanged insights on research, education and partnerships with @who.int, and ended the day meeting our African students. 🤝

The project #SECRET, funded by @globalhealthedctp3.bsky.social, aims to strengthen #research #ethics committees in #Uganda & #Ethiopia. This training held at #Busitema University contributes to reinforcing the research ecosystem. #BernardKikaire @itmantwerp.bsky.social www.itg.be/en/health-st...

🌍 Universal health coverage remains out of reach for millions, and the impact is felt daily in communities with the least resources. Francesca reflects on these challenges through her work. Tune in to our podcast Transmission. #UHC2025 #HealthForAll  🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/0wut... 

✨ Fresh Off The Journal – November Edition Here are some of our November’s research highlights. This month is a clear reminder: no one advances global health alone. Our strength lies in collaboration. Explore the full highlights 👉 www.itg.be/en/health-st...    

“The first thing that I noticed was the old suspects: the white saviour bias and the linkage of dark skin tone with poverty. What really struck me was the logos, because I did not prompt for them and they appear,” said Arsenii Alenichev (ITM), studying the production of global health images.

#Conflicts & #Health: our study shows that #availability of #medicines for #NCDs (esp #epilepsy) is low in Northern #Syria. A well-regulated system must be built on local capacities @salehalitmantwerp.bsky.social @belentarrafeta.bsky.social @itmantwerp.bsky.social journals.plos.org/globalpublic...

🧪 #mpox2025 #Kinshasa #MBOTE Epidemics waiting to happen… Isabel Brosius describes context and circumstances of mpox virus Clade Ib emergence in South Kivu - and notes conditions for continuing new outbreaks with changing characteristics @labgenpath.bsky.social @itmantwerp.bsky.social

Methods for modelling composite indices of access to healthcare facilities: a systematic literature review led by @halolemoses.bsky.social How we measure access to healthcare shapes how we fix it. Read more: link.springer.com/article/10.1... @itmantwerp.bsky.social #GISChat #GeoHealth

Our analysis of publications from commercial clinical #trials in breast lung & colon #cancer involving #LMICs, found significative #authorship imbalances, calling for #equity & #fairness in #oncology research @itmantwerp.bsky.social #UPO @salehaljadeeah.bsky.social link.springer.com/article/10.1...

A bacteriophage, also known as a "phage", is a virus that infects and replicates within bacteria. What can they be used for? According to @bcmhouston.bsky.social's Joshi Bishnu, in the fight against certain bacterial infections and AMR. #Colloq25

Jennifer Furin’s wise words will stay with us long after #colloq25: “Tuberculosis needs a human rights approach, not a public health approach.” We need to make sure we’re innovating the right way: in partnership with impacted communities. @harvardmed.bsky.social

So much fun to learn about Outbreaks & Surveillance yesterday from these All-Stars @itmantwerp.bsky.social #TBSky #MPox #AMR #Arbovirus #airfilterforensics

Day 3 #colloq25! Tapfumanei Mashe @who.int focused on AMR in Zimbabwe, which has been exacerbated by inappropriate use of antimicrobials in healthcare & agriculture. The One Health AMR Nat'l Action Plan combats this: fosters innovation, generates knowledge, establishes risk mitigation strategies.

Aarman Sohaili from @maastrichtu.bsky.social introduced a new Rapid Multiplex System at #colloq25 for point-of-care diagnostics of STIs. During their study in Kenya, they generated epidemiological data for the prevalence of these infections among 400 sexually active PrEP users.

💡 Did you know that only 50% of Essential Medicines are available in LMICs? And 2 billion people face financial hardship due to out-of-pocket spending? As Makaita Gombe put it at #colloq25: "to be fruitful, and multiply the impact of innovation, access is not just one thing, it’s everything!"

Eline Kattenberg gave an enlightening talk about the work of the global Malaria Molecular Surveillance network, whose aim is to generate high quality surveillance data to inform policy and practice. Evolution of drug resistance is high on their agenda. 💊 #Colloq25 @ekattenberg.bsky.social

Prof @dujardinbiomed.bsky.social talked about leishmaniasis and how the cutaneous form of it in Nepal seems to provoke a resurgence of the more dangerous, visceral form. Researching the different genotypes of these diseases is essential for a systematic genomic surveillance system. 🧬 #colloq25

And the 65th ITM Colloquium has officially kicked off! 🎉 Prof Jeffrey Siegel talked to us about how filter forensics can be combined with infection control of airborne infectious diseases. 🧬 #colloq25 @engineering.utoronto.ca @utoronto.ca

Alumnimeeting in de aanloop naar het ITG-colloquium. Fijn veel ex-collega’s en oud-studenten te kunnen terugzien. @itmantwerp.bsky.social

Fresh Off The Journal – October From autism-inclusive HIV care to ancient mosquitoes and smarter ways to test for dengue, last month’s research highlights how global collaboration drives better health for all. 🔗 www.itg.be/en/health-st...

🎓Alumni Webinar #4 with Suleiman! During this session, he examines how wealth disparities impact access to maternal health services and highlights data-driven strategies to tackle these inequalities. 📅 Date: 13/11/2025 ⏰Time: 14:00 – 15:00 ✨Register now: www.itg.be/en/events/al...

How can AI defeat drug-resistant TB? Meet Prof. Oren Tzfadia, ITM’s computational biologist, using omics and AI for new insights. Join his keynote at the ITM Colloquium 2025 on Wednesday 5 Nov! 👉Full interview: lnkd.in/ekTmbXkG

🎓 Celebrating excellence in early-career research! ITM’s and @uantwerpen.be's Janne Wouters & Niki Danel have earned the prestigious @fwovlaanderen.bsky.social PhD Fellowship 👏 Janne explores skin immune responses, while Niki studies sleeping sickness parasites. 🔗 www.itg.be/en/health-st...

⏱️Last chance to register for the 65th ITM Colloquium! Join leading experts, including Dr. Tokpanou Koudjo, in Antwerp to exchange insights and shape the future of global health. This year’s theme is “Breaking Boundaries: Innovations in Infectious Disease Research.” ➡️https://www.colloq2025.be/

"Generative AI tools have long been found to replicate – and at times exaggerate – broader societal biases. The proliferation of biased images in global health communications may make the problem worse," said ITM researcher Arsenii Alenichev.

Happy to share our work on the multiple, interlinked determinants of poor #prescribing of #medicine in #conflict areas in #Mali: practices easily labeled as ‘irrational’ are in fact shaped by contextual constraints! University of Bamako @itmantwerp.bsky.social journals.plos.org/globalpublic...

We’re ready to welcome global experts to Antwerp for our 65th ITM Colloquium: ‘Breaking Boundaries: Innovations in Infectious Disease Research’! 🧬Jeffrey Siegel (Canada) joins us to share his filter forensics research and explore how creativity and collaboration can push global health forward. 🌍

“In a partnership on equal footing, one side cannot decide to reduce a previously agreed contribution by 25% or 50%. A cooperation should be more reliable than a donor–recipient relationship,” says @gorikooms.bsky.social, health-policy researcher at ITM. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

"Nu hebben we voor het eerst bewijs dat ook de antibiotica in het voedsel rechtstreeks aanleiding kunnen geven tot een verhoogde kans op antibioticaresistentie", zegt microbioloog Dorien Van den Bossche. ➡️https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-18714-3

Join Wahid Fakhri Husein for his alumni webinar next Wednesday! 🎓 An Indonesian veterinarian and Master in Global One Health graduate, he’ll share insights from his research on eliminating rabies in Bali through coordinated dog vaccination and bite case management. 💉 Link in first comment.

🧬Join us 4–6 Nov in Antwerp for the 65th ITM Colloquium: Breaking Boundaries: Innovations in Infectious Disease Research! Through evidence, dialogue & exchange, we seek to co-create a roadmap for infectious disease research and policy that is as inclusive as it is innovative. Link in first comment.

🎧 Don’t miss our webinar tomorrow with Fernando!

Fresh Off The Journal – September From tongue swabs for leprosy to gaps in maternity care, ITM research this month tackles diagnostics, treatment challenges & maternal health. 🔗 www.itg.be/en/health-st...

Niet alleen bombardementen, maar ook het toenemende tekort aan geneesmiddelen maakt slachtoffers in Gaza. Uit onderzoek door het Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde blijkt dat minder dan de helft van de onderzochte middelen voldoende voorradig is. www.mo.be/nieuws/nieuw...

✋ How do you stop a fast-moving #mpox outbreak? Thanks to our emergency #funding mechanism, the MBOTE-SK project launched in record time, building on lessons from the earlier MBOTE-Maniema project More: www.global-health-edctp3.europa.eu/news-and-eve... @itmantwerp.bsky.social

🚨 New @thelancet.com Research letter: Severe medicine shortages in Gaza. “People are dying not only from bombs but also from lack of medicines.” - @salehaljadeeah.bsky.social. “Without ceasefire, an end of the blockade, medicine shortages will continue.”

🌍 Today is World Rabies Day with this year’s WHO theme “Act now: You, Me, Community.” Rabies is preventable with timely vaccination. 💉 A Belgian study by ITM & UZA shows 99.5% still developed strong antibodies so routine follow-up blood tests aren’t needed. 🐾

"We zien dat de bacterie noordwaarts oprukt. Ze gedijt goed in water dat warmer is dan 20 graden. Door de klimaatopwarming warmt de zee ook op," zegt ITG-infectioloog Steven Van Den Broucke. "Maar er is geen reden tot paniek. We moeten vooral voorzichtig zijn en ons ervan bewust blijven."

Today we joined the call for the #right to receive and provide #healthcare, for the right to live. Everywhere. #Gaza #Yemen #Sudan #Afghanistan #Ukraine #DRC #Syria #Haïti etc. medicsonthemoveforwhatmatters.org @itmantwerp.bsky.social

We are proud to announce that four ITM researchers have been awarded prestigious postdoctoral fellowships from the Research Foundation Flanders - FWO in 2025. Congrats to Anke, @antenehasefa.bsky.social, Daan, and Irene! 🔎Learn more about their projects: www.itg.be/en/health-st...

Don’t miss next Thursday’s alumni webinar with Ilhaam Ashraf! 💡 A medical doctor from India and 2025 MPH graduate, Ilhaam Ashraf will share insights from her thesis on making primary health care fairer and more inclusive, presenting a practical framework based on 48 studies.

vrtnws.be/p.Bl8ayDAkv "Dengue is sterk in opmars. Wereldwijd spreken we over 100-400 miljoen infecties per jaar. Het is dan ook niet verwonderlijk dat we ook bij reizigers een toename van het aantal infecties zien." -Marjan Van Esbroeck, hoofd klinisch laboratorium. @wimdemaeseneer.bsky.social

Exciting news🌟! Yesterday, our alumni were honoured with the Prize for Global Research from Provincie Antwerpen, a well-deserved recognition of their work advancing health equity and innovative solutions. Congrats to our alumni! 👏 Learn about their projects in our webinar series!

🦠 Leprosy cases are declining but still present in Pakistan. A @thelancet.com Global Health paper by Dr Anil Fastenau & Dr Epco Hasker shows how routine data (1980–2022) can help monitor the disease. In August a DHIS-2 training in Antwerp focused on strengthening tracing & analysis to fight leprosy.

Awakened by an itch? It may not be a mosquito, but scabies. Cases are rising fast in Belgium, especially among the youth, in cities & during winter. 🔎Our Outbreak Research Team with @Sciensano & @Departementzorg analyzed trends (2000–2023) to improve diagnosis & treatment. 🔗 Link in first comment

Grateful for the opportunity to lecture again at the #Pandemic Preparedness Summer School of @uantwerpen.be, with my @itmantwerp.bsky.social colleagues @gorikooms.bsky.social and Nicola Deghaye, from an #ethics and #policy angle. Thanks Erika Vlieghe & Annelies Mondelaers

"Een uitbraak is in het begin altijd moeilijk in te schatten. Maar het nationale gezondheidssysteem en zijn internationale partners hebben veel ervaring om zo’n crisis aan te pakken. Er is nu ook een vaccin, wat een wereld van verschil maakt.” - Laurens Liesenborghs www.standaard.be/buitenland/e...