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World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day on January 30 draws attention to diseases that affect around 1.4 billion people worldwide, particularly in structurally disadvantaged regions. Diseases such as river blindness, schistosomiasis, and lymphatic filariasis impair the health and economic participation of entire populations and, despite the progress that has been made, are under pressure due to cuts in global health funding. To mark World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day, the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) is presenting selected research topics and offering the media an expert service in the research focus area “Neglected Tropical Diseases.”
The World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day on January 30 aims to raise awareness of diseases that affect millions of people worldwide but are usually overshadowed by other global health issues. The motto of the day is "Unite. Act. Eliminate.". According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 1.4 billion people are in need of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment measures, particularly in structurally disadvantaged regions.
Neglected tropical diseases such as river blindness, schistosomiasis, and lymphatic filariasis are widespread in many African countries and affect the health, quality of life, and economic participation of entire populations. Parasitic infections can also weaken the immune system and increase the risk of other diseases and viral infections, such as HIV. At the same time, the successful progress made in recent years is coming under pressure due to cuts in global health funding.
Against this backdrop, scientists at the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) are working with partner institutions in Africa on a series of research projects aimed at improving the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of neglected tropical diseases.
Expert service for World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day 2026
For media inquiries regarding the topics listed below and other topics related to the DZIF research focus “Neglected Tropical Diseases,” please contact the respective DZIF experts listed. Please also forward all inquiries to presse@dzif.de and cite the DZIF as the source when quoting in interviews and texts.
Increased risk of HIV infection in worm infections
Scientists at the LMU University Hospital Munich, led by Prof. Inge Kroidl, are researching the interaction between certain worm diseases and HIV infections. In a cohort study in Tanzania, they found that infection with the worm Wuchereria bancrofti increases the risk of HIV infection by two to three times. A follow-up study confirmed that controlling this worm infection leads to a decline in new HIV infections.
Prof. Dr. Inge Kroidl
LMU University Hospital Munich
Inge.Kroidl@med.uni-muenchen.de
New antibiotics against filariae
River blindness (onchocerciasis) is an infection of the cornea caused by roundworms (filariae). The infection leads to loss of vision in one in twenty patients and blindness in one in a hundred. Infection with these filariae is only possible near rivers, as the black fly, which transmits the parasites, is only found there. An estimated 18 to 25 million people are infected. DZIF scientists at the University Hospital Bonn have developed the antibiotic corallopyronin A. It is effective against Wolbachia bacteria, which live as essential symbionts in filariae. Corallopyronin A is a novel antibiotic that has been further developed from a natural product and is currently in preclinical development for the treatment of infections with parasitic roundworms (filariasis) and infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria.
Prof. Dr. Achim Hörauf
University Hospital Bonn
achim.hoerauf@ukbonn.de
Broad-spectrum drugs against nematodes
Worm infections such as onchocerciasis (river blindness), loiasis (African eye worm disease), mansonellosis, and trichuriasis (whipworm infection) can cause serious, chronic health problems and affect hundreds of millions of people in tropical regions. In the joint project eWHORM, which is funded with €11.5 million by the European Union and the Swiss government, DZIF researchers led by Prof. Marc Hübner aim to combat the roundworms that are widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. The main goal is to test the broad-spectrum drug oxfendaxol, which is successfully used in veterinary medicine against intestinal worms, on humans against nematodes. “We expect it to have a pan-nematicidal effect, which is why we are testing the tablets against all four worm species in Gabon, Cameroon, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo,” says Hübner. The “basket approach” makes it possible to include patients who are colonized by more than one parasite.
Prof. Dr. Marc Hübner
University Hospital Bonn
huebner@uni-bonn.de
Combating the African eye worm
According to WHO estimates, around 20 million people are currently infected with the parasite Loa loa. Despite its widespread occurrence, the African eye worm disease loiasis caused by this parasite is not included in the WHO list of neglected tropical diseases. In clinical studies, DZIF scientists led by Prof. Michael Ramharter, together with colleagues from the Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné (CERMEL) in Gabon—an African Partner Institution of the DZIF—are investigating whether certain broad-spectrum drugs against nematodes can successfully combat the parasite.
Prof. Dr. Michael Ramharter
Coordinator of the DZIF research area Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases
Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine
University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
michael.ramharter@ctm.bnitm.de
Schistosomiasis: the tropical disease with the highest disease burden
Schistosomiasis is caused by worms of the genus Schistosoma, whose larvae develop in freshwater snails. When swimming or wading in contaminated freshwater, the larvae can penetrate the human body through the skin. Almost 240 million people are infected. This makes schistosomiasis the second most common tropical disease after malaria and the disease with the highest disease burden. The worms can severely damage organs such as the liver and impair fertility in women. DZIF researchers at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg are developing new therapies and diagnostics for the treatment of chronic forms of schistosomiasis.
Dr. Daniela Fusco
Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine
fusco@bnitm.de
Development of novel technologies in diagnostics of schistosomiasis
Despite significant progress, the options for diagnosing and treating schistosomiasis remain limited. Current standard procedures are labor-intensive and often insufficiently sensitive. In regions with limited resources, where the disease burden is highest, the modern, sensitive methods used in high-income countries are still too costly and complex. Prof. Clarissa Prazeres da Costa from the Technical University of Munich is leading research to adapt novel technologies to improve schistosomiasis diagnosis. In collaboration with industry and academic partners, including Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and Imperial College London, as well as with the African Partner Institutions of the DZIF, her team is developing and validating highly sensitive, field-ready diagnostic tests that are specifically tailored for use in resource-poor environments. The team also aims to incorporate novel technologies, such as the long-read sequencing method, to create an innovative, sequence-based diagnostic development platform. This work contributes to building local expertise and strengthens the DZIF's efforts to improve the diagnosis and treatment of neglected diseases such as schistosomiasis.
Prof. Dr. Clarissa Prazeres da Costa
Technical University of Munich
clarissa.dacosta@tum.de
Schistosomiasis: one parasite rarely comes alone
At the Institute for Tropical Medicine, Travel Medicine, and Human Parasitology at the University Hospital Tübingen, DZIF scientists are conducting intensive research into filariae and schistosomiasis, a disease that is often accompanied by infection with other parasites. The researchers are working on improving and developing diagnostics and therapies for new infections with juvenile schistosomes, an early stage of development of the worms, and are investigating chronic infections using innovative immunological methods.
Dr. Dr. Carsten Köhler
University Hospital Tübingen
carsten.koehler@uni-tuebingen.de
Prof. Dr. Michael Ramharter
Koordinator des DZIF-Forschungsbereichs „Malaria und vernachlässigte Tropenkrankheiten"
Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine
University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
michael.ramharter@ctm.bnitm.de
Prof. Dr. Achim Hörauf
Stellv. Koordinator des DZIF-Forschungsbereichs „Malaria und vernachlässigte Tropenkrankheiten"
University Hospital Bonn
achim.hoerauf@ukbonn.de
Prof. Dr. Marc Hübner
University Hospital Bonn
huebner@uni-bonn.de
Prof. Dr. Inge Kroidl
LMU University Hospital Munich
Inge.Kroidl@med.uni-muenchen.de
Prof. Dr. Clarissa Prazeres da Costa
Technical University of Munich
clarissa.dacosta@tum.de
Dr. Daniela Fusco
Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine
fusco@bnitm.de
Dr. Dr. Carsten Köhler
University Hospital Tübingen
carsten.koehler@uni-tuebingen.de
https://www.dzif.de/en/malaria-and-neglected-tropical-diseases DZIF research area „Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases“
https://www.dzif.de/en/neglected-tropical-diseases DZIF central theme „Neglected Tropical Diseases“
https://www.dzif.de/en/infrastructure/african-partner-institutions African Partner Institutions of DZIF
https://ewhorm.org/ Joint project „eWHORM“
Identification of a knot containing adult worms in a patient with onchocerciasis (river blindness) i ...
Copyright: KCCR/Jubin Osei‐Mensah/WHO/DZIF
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