Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde | Institute of Tropical Medicine

05/12/2025

👏 Big news from ITM!

ITM Associate Professor Maria Luisa Simões has been elected Chair of the American Committee of Medical Entomology (ACME).

ACME is a major committee within the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH), representing the global medical entomology community and everyone working on vector-borne diseases. ACME members work across all continents on a wide range of vectors, tackling key contemporary challenges aiming at lowering vector-borne disease transmission.

The committee celebrates both junior and senior scientists through workshops, symposia, and awards, shaping the future of students and young professionals.

“I look forward to leading and supporting this vibrant community that has been growing for the last 40 years.”

Congratulations! 🎉

05/12/2025

✨ Congratulations!

ITM virologist and prof Koen Vercauteren has won the ESCV European Diagnostic Virology Award for his contributions to tropical viral infectious diseases, particularly mpox.

“By supporting diagnostic virology and genomic surveillance capacity we contributed to multidisciplinary outbreak investigations that have advanced mpox recognition, diagnosis, and response. I’m thankful to everyone who made this work possible.”

The European Society for Clinical Virology (ESCV) brings together experts in clinical virology and promotes knowledge on human viral diseases. Its annual European Diagnostic Virology Award honours outstanding junior scientists in viral diagnosis. This year’s edition took place in Greece.

🔗 Read more via https://bit.ly/4iEmHa3

04/12/2025

Sign up now for the Chems*x Conference to enjoy early-bird rates💡

Join us at ITM for a global conversation on the phenomenon of chems*x. Together with a group of various experts, we’ll dive into its key challenges, engage in meaningful dialogue, and exchange knowledge with people connected to chems*x from around the world.

What you should know:
📆 3 March (16:00–20:00), 4 March (09:00–17:00), 5 March (09:00–16:00)
📍 Campus Rochus, Sint-Rochusstraat 43, 2000 Antwerp
👤 Experts and community voices
🎫 Early bird: €170 (€135 for students/NGOs/LMIC participants)

Expect global insights, panel discussions, workshops, and a strong focus on health, harm reduction, and human rights.

Early bird tickets are available until 15 December. Check out the programme and get yours now! 🐦 http://bit.ly/3KbDULh

03/12/2025

Great energy at our ITM alumni meeting in Accra! 🎓

Alumni from across Africa gathered in Accra to exchange expertise on sustainable HIV responses, resource mobilisation, and community-based innovation ahead of ICASA 2025.
We also explored alumni needs and opportunities to help shape the new ITM Alumni Policy 2027–2031.

Wonderful to reconnect and strengthen our global ITM network! 💪

28/11/2025

We'll remember November! 🍂 The temperature might have dropped but our drive at ITM definitely hasn't. Swipe to see some things that went on at our Institute this month!

1. Happy birthday! 🥳 The Urbanbirth Collective turned one year old this November. The perfect moment to celebrate their contributions in improving maternal and perinatal wellbeing in sub-Saharan African cities. 🤰

2. Welcome! 🤗 This month, both students and teachers paid us a visit. First, biomedical students from the UAntwerpen, then, a group of teachers from UAntwerpen - Centrum Nascholing Onderwijs. 🦠

3. Out of the way! 🏃 Participants of this year's Urban Trail Series Belgium raced through ITM's Art Deco building. 💨

4. Ring ring! 🚴‍♀️ Nothing beats the sound of a bike that had a fresh check-up. This month, our employees were able to have just that. Vélo Vonk was at our service while Koffiebie offered an amazing cup of morning coffee.

5. Congrats! 🏅 ITM researchers Myrthe Pareyn and Saleh Aljadeeah took home a grant at the Award Ceremony for the 2023-2024 Laureates of the Funds for Biomedical Research. Well deserved!

6. Together with The Network on Migration & Global Mobility, ITM organized the 6th annual seminar on health and migration. The focus was on internal displacement and related health challenges. 🩺

7. Former students from all over the world joined the ITM Alumni meeting 'Voices from the field'. 🌍 Together, they explored ways to collaborate and gained input for the new alumni policy and action plan. 💭

8. ITM immunologist Thao-Thy Pham was finally able to visit LRTC/CTRL partners in Gondar. They strengthened lab capacity, trained researchers, and officially kicked off the ALIVE study with its first recruited patient! 🥼

9. ITM entomologist Marco Brustolin co-organized a basic virology course at the Tribhuvan University in Nepal, helping set up a cell-culture lab and train faculty in virology techniques. 🔬

10. ITM students took part in a simulated IPC group reflection at our O Lab. Key insight: complex problems don't always need complex solutions. By promoting simple actions such as proper hand hygiene a lot can be prevented in medical settings. 💡

27/11/2025

👀 Curious what a day in the life of an ITM student looks like?
Step inside our campus and discover how science, community and coffee fuel the next generation of global health professionals. ☕ From early lectures to afternoon lab work, our students engage deeply with the challenges shaping global health today. 🌍 Check out our courses and join us! https://www.itg.be/en/study/studying-at-itm

🤝📽️ Businessopleidingen Thomas More

25/11/2025

Wat een leerrijke editie van de Dag van de Wetenschap! ✨

Afgelopen zondag namen we jong en oud mee in de wereld van tropische ziekten op de Stadscampus van UAntwerpen met een speciale focus op slaapziekte. Zo belichtten we de internationale strijd om deze verwaarloosde tropische ziekte voorgoed te elimineren.

🔬 Van tseetseevliegen tot trypanosomen
Bezoekers keken recht in de ogen van de tseetseevlieg, ontdekten de parasiet onder de microscoop én leerden hoe digitalisering en innovatieve technieken onderzoek en diagnose versnellen.

🧪 Word zelf arts voor één dag
De CATT-test uitvoeren met een patiëntendossier in de hand bleek een echte publiekstrekker en toonde hoe cruciaal snelle en juiste diagnose is, zowel in de DRC als in het lab.

🦟 Tijgermuggen, klimaat en verwondering
ITG-expert Wim Van Bortel gaf twee lezingen voor groot en klein. De aanwezigen waren opvallend enthousiast en nieuwsgierig, met veel vragen over de opmars van de tijgermug en de impact van klimaatverandering.

🤝 Samen werkt het
De Dag van de Wetenschap blijft een waardevolle gelegenheid om te tonen hoe we samen met onze internationale partners en donoren samenwerken aan oplossingen voor mondiale gezondheidsuitdagingen. Dankzij die samenwerking staan we dichter dan ooit bij de eliminatie van slaapziekte, en het ITG blijft daar trots een sleutelrol in spelen.

Bedankt aan alle bezoekers, partners en collega’s voor hun enthousiasme en betrokkenheid! 🫶

24/11/2025

How can a place with relatively low antibiotic use still face such a high number of fatal antibiotic-resistant infections? 💊

ITM epidemiologist Brecht Ingelbeen explored this question together with Nanoro research partners in Burkina Faso. In response to World Antimicrobial Awareness Week ending, we'd love to share what he wrote about it for EOS. 💡

In his blog article 'Why 200,000 children still die every year due to antibiotic resistance' he describes how the team investigated exposure to contaminated drinking water, food, soil, and other potential sources of resistant bacteria in and around the home. Their findings led them to a clear conclusion:

"In Burkina Faso and many other low-income countries, the fight against antibiotic resistance must consist of both intercepting resistant bacteria before they reach the intestines or lungs, and keeping the host healthy."

🔗Discover the full story here: https://www.eoswetenschap.eu/gezondheid/waarom-jaarlijks-nog-200000-kinderen-sterven-door-antibioticaresistentie

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Hoe kan een plek met relatief weinig antibioticagebruik toch zoveel dodelijke antibioticaresistente infecties hebben? 💊

Epidemioloog Brecht Ingelbeen van het ITG onderzocht het samen met onderzoekspartners uit Nanoro in Burkina Faso. Met het einde van World Antimicrobial Awareness Week in zicht delen we graag wat hij hierover schreef voor EOS. 💡

In zijn blogartikel ‘Waarom jaarlijks nog 200.000 kinderen sterven door antibioticaresistentie’ beschrijft hij hoe ze onderzochten in welke mate omgevingsbronnen zoals drinkwater, huisdieren of toiletten, bijdragen aan de verspreiding van resistente bacteriën. Het onderzoek bracht hen tot een duidelijke conclusie:

In Burkina Faso en veel andere lage inkomenslanden moet de bestrijding van antibioticaresistentie bestaan uit zowel het onderscheppen van resistente bacteriën voor ze in de darmen of longen terecht komen, als uit het gezond houden van de gastheer.”

🔗Lees het volledige artikel hier: https://www.eoswetenschap.eu/gezondheid/waarom-jaarlijks-nog-200000-kinderen-sterven-door-antibioticaresistentie

Foto: Illias Teirlinck

24/11/2025

Can you contract HIV from a toilet seat? And do you always experience symptoms if you have an STI? 🤔

Participate in our quiz and find out! On the occasion of World AIDS Day, you can take part in a quiz about HIV/AIDS in the entrance hall of our main building. This way, you can help debunk false assumptions and stigma. What you should know:

📍ITM main building, Nationalestraat 155, Antwerpen
📆 1/12, World Aids Day: 13h-16h30
🏅Participants of the quiz get a 'safe space' totebag or sticker!
👤 Everyone is welcome!

Find out more via https://www.itg.be/en/research/projects/uu-campaign-for-world-aids-day

21/11/2025

Zzzz...what do you know about mosquitos? 🦟

This Sunday it's Science Day! 🧪 ITM is yet again present with an informative booth about sleeping sickness and two lectures on mosquitos at the City Campus of UAntwerp. During these lectures, colleague and scientist Wim Van Bortel will explain to young and old why these tiny insects matter, the threats they pose, and what we can do to reduce their impact.

📆 23/11
🕐 13h-13h30: lecture for adults
🕒 15h10-15h30: lecture for kids
🕙 10h-18h: booth sleeping sickness
📍City Campus University of Antwerp

Be sure to come and take a look!
🔗 More info via https://shorturl.at/AWr5X

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Zzzz...wat weet jij over muggen? 🦟

Zondag is het zo ver: de Dag van de Wetenschap! 🧪 Het ITG is er opnieuw bij met een boeiende stand over slaapziekte en twee lezingen over muggen op de wetenschapbeurs van UAntwerpen. Tijdens deze lezingen vertelt collega en wetenschapper Wim Van Bortel jong en oud waarom deze kleine insecten belangrijk zijn, welke bedreigingen ze vormen en wat we kunnen doen om hun impact te verminderen.

📆 23/11
🕐 13u-13u30: lezing volwassenen
🕒 15u10-15u30: lezing kinderen
🕙 10u-18u: stand slaapziekte
📍Stadscampus Universiteit Antwerpen

Kom zeker een kijkje nemen!

🔗 Meer info vind je via https://shorturl.at/AWr5X

Duik met wetenschapper Wim Van Bortel van het Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde in de fascinerende wereld van... muggen?! Onze nieuwsgierigheid is alvast geprikkeld. Ontdek alles op de website van de Dag van de Wetenschap 2025.

https://www.dagvandewetenschap.be/

20/11/2025

New HIV figures out today: the Belgian research Institute Sciensano reports that while overall HIV diagnosis in Belgium remain stable, cases are rising among Belgian Men. 📈

The HIV epidemic continues to affect Belgian men who have s*x with men and sub-Saharan African heteros*xual men and woman the most, with Brussels remaining the most impacted region.

Sciensano underscores the urgent need to strengthen prevention, expand testing, and improve access to PrEP. Sensoa, the Flemish Expertise Centre for Sexual Health, also highlights the importance of early and comprehensive s*xual education.

ITM s*xual health professor Bernadette Hensen reinforces this message:

“Ending the HIV epidemic requires prevention services people can easily access, including PrEP and condoms, backed by strong s*xual health education.”

Did you know?
ITM hosts one of Belgium’s HIV Reference Centres (HRCs). They play a crucial role in monitoring the HIV epidemic. At every HRC, you can access a professional medical and paramedical team for HIV follow-up and support.

👉 More information: https://www.itg.be/en/clinics/service/hiv-follow-up

19/11/2025

We need your help! 🫵

Our water basin in the Art Deco garden surrounding ITM is partaking in the Heritage Challenge. The contestant with the most votes wins a whopping € 10 000 and gets to restore their chosen piece of heritage! But why should you vote for our basin?

Here's 5 reasons:

💨 Not only is it beautiful, it was also part of an ingenious ventilation system for the buildings... a bit of innovation from 100 years ago.

💚 It's located in the public garden of ITM, a green oasis in the heart of Antwerp. Everyone gets to enjoy it!

🌱 By restoring it, we bring new life, cooling, and biodiversity back to the city.

🏆 The prize: € 10 000, covers a big part of the necessary restoration budget; a significant step towards restoration.

⌛ It only takes up a minute of your time!

Vote now! https://bit.ly/4oVyGSl