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Neglected tropical diseases
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Eliminating worm infections as a key strategy for HIV/AIDS prevention
Researchers from the Institute of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine at the LMU Munich, the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) – Mbeya (MMRC) and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), together with colleagues from IMMIP- Bonn, have discovered a risk factor for HIV infection that has received little attention to date. In an earlier cohort study conducted in Tanzania, they had demonstrated for the first time that infection with the worm Wuchereria bancrofti increases the risk of contracting HIV. This link has now been further investigated in the context of a national program in Tanzania to eliminate W. bancrofti—the causative agent of lymphatic filariasis. The follow-up study confirms that the containment of this worm infection leads to a reduction in new HIV infections. The results of the RHINO study have now been published in the journal The Lancet HIV.
Co-author of the study, Prof. Achim Hörauf, Director IMMIP, adds: "Our findings open up new possibilities for the prevention of HIV in affected regions. The therapy to combat lymphatic filariasis is still not optimal. We are therefore continuing to research this topic and hope to bring at least a few of the drugs developed also with DZIF funding, to registration." Continue reading...
© DZIF
The German Center for Infection Research in focus
The German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) has produced and released a new film about the broad spectrum of its activities. At the DZIF, over 700 researchers in 35 member institutions at seven partner sites work together on the greatest challenges of infection research for the benefit of all people. The goal is translation—the transfer of scientific knowledge from basic research to practical application. But what exactly does that mean? What diseases are the DZIF's research projects focused on? How does this huge network work in practice? And who works with whom? "We launched our new video to answer exactly these questions—for everyone interested in the work of the Center," says Dr. Timo Jäger, Managing Director of the DZIF. Link to DZIF article
The University Hospital Bonn is one of the DZIF’s 35 research institutions, with researchers at the Institute of Medical Microbiology Immunology and Parasitology working on DZIF areas like Novel Antibiotics; a example being corallopyronin A and neglected tropical diseases. Prof. Achim Hoerauf, director IMMIP, is the Deputy Partner Site Speaker Bonn-Köln and Deputy Coordinator of the DZIF research area Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases. In the DZIF video, (min: 5.45,) Prof. Hörauf speaks on the development of new antibiotics, like corallopyronin A.
Photo: Dr. Christoph Hoffmann MdB, Deputy Chairman of the AWZ and Prof. Achim Hörauf
DNTDs in the German Parliament - Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development
Berlin, 06.11.2024 - The German Network against Neglected Tropical Diseases (DNTDs) was invited to speak to the Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development of the German Bundestag about strategies to combat neglected tropical diseases and their financing. Prof. Dr. Achim Hörauf, Director IMMIP, gave an outline of the status quo and presented recommendations for action as an expert and spokesperson for the DNTDs. In particular, he addressed the strengthening and further development of NTD programs, the integration of NTD programs into other sectors, the improvement of access to drugs, the continuation of the promotion of drug development against NTDs and the promotion of innovative financing approaches for incentive systems for drug development and marketing of NTD programs. Continue reading
Clinical Trials to Assess Effectiveness of Treatment Guidelines for Lymphedema Induced by Lymphatic Filariasis
The LeDoxy trials have published their joint study on Lymphedema management using hygiene measures and doxycycline administration. The multi-centre, multi-country clinical trial, was conducted in 5 country, Ghana, Tanzania, Mali, Sri Lanka and India. The trials were a collaborative effort between COR-NTD (TaskForce for Global Health, Atlanta, USA) and IMMIP (Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, The German Center for Infection Research, Bonn-Cologne site, Germany). Trials in Ghana and Tanzania were funded by The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Neglected Tropical Diseases Program through their support of the Coalition for Operational Research on Neglected Tropical Diseases (COR-NTD) grant (AID-OAA-G-14-00008), funded those conducted in Mali, Sri Lanka and India. IMMIP’s institute director Prof. Achim Hoerauf is the co-coordinator of the TAKeOFF consortium and Dr. Ute Klarmann-Schulz the Bonn PI. Continue reading
Code for a Cure: Combating River Blindness with Data & AI
A team of experts at Capgemini, in collaboration with University Hospital Bonn and Amazon Web Services, has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that will accelerate the speed of clinical trials aiming to establish new treatments for River Blindness, a neglected tropical disease which affects over 20 million people globally. Currently, the specialist work of clinical trials can only be carried out manually by a handful of global experts, so the winning model could save years of work and speed up the development of new treatments.Continue reading
International travel and NTDs
The world NTD day, 30th January, is an important day as it highlights diseases that are neglected, especially since those affected live in low-income countries. In marking the world NTD day, Prof. Achim Hoerauf, Director IMMIP and Speaker DNTDS, had an interview on NTDs. In his interview, he introduced NTD, their distribution as a whole and the global burden of the disease, where more than 1 billion people are affected. Prof. Hörauf also highlighted the impact of climate change on the increase in NTDs. Listen to the whole interview here…
The Search for New Treatment for River Blindness
The World Health Organization estimates that 1.15 million people have lost their vision due to river blindness, while 220 million require preventive therapy against onchocerciasis. For over 25 years, the Institute of Medical Microbiology Immunology and Parasitology, at the University Hospital Bonn and the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine, in Kumasi Ghana have been conduction clinical trials in river blindness and lymphatic filariasis... Continue reading
