Visiting scientists from the Bernhard-Nocht-Institute in Hamburg

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Emmanuela Anandarajah and Dana Ditgen from the helminthiasis-immunology-lab of PD Dr. Norbert Brattig came to the Programme Onchocercoses laboratory in Ngaoundéré to focus on gastro-intestinal helminths of cattle. During their 5-weeks stay, they shall, in collaboration with the colleagues from IRAD-Wakwa, identify the variety of nematodes found in the gut of cattle in Nord-Cameroon, in particular with a view to the prevalence of such worms in our herd of 60 cattle, kept at the river Vina du Sud. The excretory-secretory products of such concomittant helminth infestations almost surely must affect the outcome of the various filarial infections (Onchocerca ochengi, O. gutturosa, O. armillata etc., that we observe building up in these study animals.

 

 

Alexander Schinko back to Cameroon

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Dipl. biol. Alexander Schinko, who has been in Cameroon already during our students excursion in the last year, has come back to the project in January. He is an  entomologist and wanted to aid in the studies on the vectorial efficiency of local Simulium damnosum s.l. flies and in the production of O. ochengi infective larvae, needed for in-vitro studies (PhD student Nancy Nwasiri). Alex also went to visit our partners in Bamenda and welcomed our colleagues from the Bernhard-Nocht-Institute (Hamburg) that came to work in the COBE-project on intestinal nematode worms (see next posting). He stayed in Ngaoundéré until almost the end of February 2015 and since is no longer part of the team.

Teaching grant for Babette Abanda Guimbang!

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Within the Initiative for Excellency of our university, young lecturers from foreign academic institutions are invited to teach in Tübingen. Ms Babette Abanda Guimbang from the University of Ngaoundére is amost those selected to teach at the faculty of natural sciences.

During the summer semester 2015 she shall share with us her knowledge on the epidemiology and control of human and cattle parasites in Africa. Moreover she shall participate in lectures on the vectorbiology and control of Neglegted Tropical Diseases and organize a seminar on the particular aspects of those parasitic diseases endemic in Cameroon. Together with Albert Eisenbarth, she shall prepare a practical on laboratory methods of molecular tools of vector and parasite identifications. She shall also prepare a group of students from the Tübingen university to participate in an excursion to Cameroon in summer 2015, soon after the end of the semester.

Congratulations for this new grant!

Congratulations for this new grant!

Patrick Bürgel has finished his thesis of Bachelor!

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During August and September 2014, Patrick Bürgel collected data on the socio-entomological interface of riverblindness in Cameroon: The way of clothing, which may more or less protect the human body from the bites of the Simulium dannosum vector flies is a key-factor in epidemiology.  He could show, that the degree of exposure of the villages population has in fact decreased from a value of over 95 % during the first half of the last century, to much lower values nowadays.

Read more (abstract to be published soon)

Patrick Bürgel 2014

Filariasis-Meeting in Paris, 26-27th of September

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The International Filariasis Meeting (IFM 2014) is focused on new concepts and approaches in the study of filariasis, their diversity and those of their endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia, and their interaction with vertebrate hosts and arthropod vectors. The program will feature a wide range of topics, such as filarial diversity, host and parasite co-evolution, filarial developmental biology, pathogenesis, host invasion, transmission, metabolic interaction, immune response, drug action and resistance, and vaccination.

The Conference will bring together investigators who are at the forefront of their field, and will provide opportunities for junior scientists and graduate students to get together and exchange ideas with leaders in the field. This conference is intended to provide a unique format for the exchange of ideas and information, to discuss the latest research findings and set future research agendas in a collegial atmospher.

Organizers:

Coralie Martin, Sabine Specht and Ben Makepeace
Organizing and scientific committees

learn more: http://www.alphavisa.com/ifm/2014/

 

BMZ-GIZ Meeting Berlin: Chancenkontinent Afrika

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“Chancen gemeinsam nutzen” – To take advantage of chances together: This was the theme of a meeting of the German Ministry of Cooperation (BMZ) and GIZ held in Berlin on September 12th, 2014. More than 100 delegates from African and German organizations met with the minister Gerd Müller, the states secretary Dr. Günther Nooke, heads of states and ministers from a number of African states. Threediscussion  panels adressed matters concerning education, regional integration and management of crises. Read more:

http://www.bmz.de/de/presse/aktuelleMeldungen/2014/september/140911_pm_089_Gemeinsam-Chancen-nutzen-Minister-Mueller-im-Dialog-ueber-die-neue-Afrikapolitik-des-BMZ/index.html

and:

http://www.bmz.de/de/presse/aktuelleMeldungen/2014/maerz/140321_pm_025_Die-neue-Afrika-Politik-des-BMZ/25_Die_neue_Afrikapolitik_des_BMZ.pdf

Photos of the meeting: See Gallery

BMZ-Berlin-2014-Susan-Tatah-Africa-Festival-Tübingen BMZ-Berlin-2014-Education-panel-Nooke BMZ-Berlin-2014-Education-panel BMZ-Berlin-2014-Education BMZ-Berlin-2014-Alfons Renz BMZ-Berlin-2014-2 BMZ-Berlin-2014

Cameroon-Excursion 2014

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At the end of the summer semester in Tübingen, Alfons Renz and Albert Eisenbarth went back to Cameroon on the 29th of July, together with two students, cand. biol. Patrick Bürgel and Dipl. biol. Alexander Schinko.

Read more

New COBE-DFG-University of Bamenda lab at IRAD Bambui, Bamenda

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In the frame of our COBE project, partner Dr. Flore Nguemaim Ngoufo from the University of Bamenda (UB) has set up her ouwn entomological lab in a building of the IRAD-Bambui Centre (Director Dr. Ebangui). Together with her collegues Moses and Ceril from the UB, she conducts entomological studies on Simulium biting densities and Onchocerca-transmission potential along the river Menchum valley.

Flore's team Flore's lab Flore's lab Bamenda Flore's lab and team Flore Nguemaim Bamenda Bamenda Menchum valley - Clarissa -fly-catching Bamenda Menchum valley - Clarissa -flies caught

Programme Onchocercoses at the Tuebingen Afrika-Festival

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Programme Onchoceroses made a debut presentation at the Afrika-Festival 2014, which took place in Tübingen from July 17th to 20. Lots of visitors came to our tent, amongst the many, his Excellency, the Ambassador of Cameroon in Berlin, Jean-Marc Mpay, the Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Coooperation and Development Hans-Joachim Fuchtel and the German Chancellor’s G8 Personal Representative for Africa, Mr. Günter Nooke, and the former German Ambassador to the Rupublik of Cameroon, Horst Buchholz.

Under a microcope, kindly provided by the ZEISS-Microimaging compagny, we showed Onchocerca-worms and Simulium-vector flies. The results of 37 years of fieldwork in Cameroon, as well as our on-going research topics were presented by posters (=> see more)

Can cattle protect from blindness? – the answer to this this was a threefold  yes, in deed: By zooprophylaxis and crossprotecting premunition. Moreover, the bovine Onchocerca ochengi provides us a marvellous experimental tool for studies of the biology of filarial worms, developing new macrofilaricides and vaccines. By this, bovine onchocercosis opens our eyes to understand the epidemiology of human riverblindness.

The festival was also an occasion to meet old friends and colleagues, like Dr. Dr. Christoph Jacobi, who now runs a project of AIDS-pervention in Buea, Cameroon, and Dr. Wolfgang Hoffmann from the Tübingen Institute for Tropical Medicine, who presented his work on rodent filarial worms.

The DIFÄM (Deutsches Institut für Ärztliche Mission) and the AIDS-Hilfe, both in Tübingen presented their information-flyers for distribution.

See more: http://www.afrikafestival.net

=> Press-releases (Schwäbisches Tagblatt):

AfrikaFestival-2014-Ankuendigung-ST-komp;AfrikaFestival-2014-Wirtschaftsforum-ST-komp; AfrikaFestival-2014-Reggae-Kochbananen-ST-komp

Just published: P. Wenk, A. Renz: Malaria: Wettrüsten oder Selbstkontrolle?

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It is the biological background of the life-cycle of Plamodium parasites and their triggy philosopy of survival that makes it so difficult to control malaria.
In the prestidious Naturwissenschafliche Rundschau Peter Wenk and Alfons Renz just published a comprehensive review of the life-history of these protozoa. Eukaryotic parasites behave much different if compared to prokaryotic pathogens. These differences become obvious in issues of epidemiology, immunology and self-control.

Malaria: Wettrüsten oder Selbstkontrolle? Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau, 67, Heft 6, 2014, S 276-299 (Reprints may be requested from: Alfons.Renz@uni-tuebingen.de)