14th European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health (ECTMIH)

The14th European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health (ECTMIH) in Hamburg, Germany - a pivotal event in the global health calendar. This congress, organized by the Bernhard-Nocht-Institut (BNITM) under the auspices of the Federation of European Societies for Tropical Medicine and International Health (FESTMIH), brings together experts, policymakers, researchers, and healthcare professionals to address the most pressing challenges in tropical medicine and global health.

In alignment with the European Union’s Global Health strategy, the Congress theme is "Better Health for All in a Changing World”. The main themes will be organised under the umbrella of One Health, and include the ongoing planetary health challenges at the intersect of human and animal health, within contexts of climate change and disrupted ecosystems, and the search for potential solutions.

The conference offers a unique opportunity to present the latest research findings on global infectious diseases, emerging infections, clinical tropical medicine, immunology and interaction, One Health, international health, and non-infectious diseases of global impact. With a variety of workshops, sessions, training courses and poster sessions; with exciting social events and an interesting flanking programme this is set to be an inspiring conference: interdisciplinary, diverse, innovative, dynamic and pioneering.

Tracks:

• Track 1. Interfaces: Immunology and Interaction
• Track 2. Emerging Infections: Pandemics and Control
• Track 3. Tropical Medicine: Diseases and Care
• Track 4. One Health: Approaches and Solutions
• Track 5. International Health: Travel and Migration
• Track 6. Vulnerable Populations: Poverty and Neglect
• Track 7. Non-Communicable Diseases: Challenges and Society

 

We have collated the schistosomiasis related sessions for you here: 

 

Date: 29.09.2025

Organised Session: Translating research into action: Neglected tropical disease advocacy networks and policy transformation

Time: 15:00 – 16:30

Room: X-Eppendorf

• Introduction to the topic: Strategic approach of advocacy to influence global health policy and research priorities
• French network against Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Italian Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Swiss Alliance Against Neglected Diseases
• UK Coalition Against NTDs
• German Network against Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Challenges
• Joint Discussions – Italian Network against Neglected Diseases

 

Date: 30.09.2025

Oral Abstract Session 2: Schistosomiasis and other helminths

Time: 08:30 – 10:00

Room: X-Altstadt

• Prevalence of probable pulmonary arterial hypertension among patients diagnosed with Schistosoma mansoni related hepatosplenic diseases at the Endoscopy unit of Nansio district hospital, Ukerewe district, north-western Tanzania
• Integrated anthelmintic-based control of Taenia solium cysticercosis/taeniasis, soil-transmitted Helminthiasis and Schistosomiasis – Safety, effectiveness and implementation strategies
• Feasibility of using the PAWPER-XL-MAC tape for weight-based arpraziquantel dosing to facilitate the control of schistosomiasis in preschool-aged children
• A HUGS farewell – Highlighting key findings from the four-year Hybridisation in UroGenital Schistosomiasis (HUGS) project in Malawi
• Acceptability of MDA with praziquantel among toddlers aged 9-24 months – Results from a cross-sectional study from Madagascar
• Novel intervention strategies for schistosomiasis elimination
• Integrating Strongyloides stercoralis diagnostics into Rwanda's soil-Transmitted Helminth and Schistosomiasis control programme – The SCAN study
• Urogenital schistosomiasis increases the risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection in Burkina Faso

 

Organised Session: Female Genital Schistosomiasis as a paradigm for women's health and gender equity in health

Time: 14:15 - 14:45

Room: Z-St. Pauli

• Introduction
• Integrating FGS services at the primary level of care in Madagascar as an opportunity to improve women’s health: lessons learnt from five years of FIRM-UP
• If a new treatment for FGS exists, how do we deliver it? An outlook towards WINGS-4-FGS
• Implementing FGS services in Malawi: challenges and opportunities for women’s health
• Schistosomiasis in humanitarian settings: an entry point to improve women’s health?
• Q&A

 

Orals Abstract Session 6: Women's and Maternal Health

Time: 16:15 – 17:45

Room: Y-St Georg

• Sexual and reproductive health needs of refugee women on Lesbos, Greece – A participatory cross-sectional study
• Regional disparities in attitudes towards female genital mutilation and early marriage in Guinea
• Implementing WHO Robson Classification System to understand and compare the cesarean section rates in four public-private hospitals in Bangladesh
• Incidence and infection dynamics of the human papilloma virus in a 4-year cohort in rural Madagascar – A longitudinal study
• Cervicovaginal bacterial communities in adult Malagasy women of reproductive age with human papillomavirus infection and female genital schistosomiasis
• The impact of Lassa Virus infection on placental pathology and pregnancy outcome
• Safety and tolerability of praziquantel among pregnant women and infants – Results from a cluster randomised clinical trial (freeBILy trial) in Madagascar
• Factors associated with decision-making autonomy among women of childbearing age in Benin regarding their sexuality, contraception and health

Date 01.10.2025

Organised Session: Equity and solidarity in health: Overcoming the obstacles to access to medicines for parasitic tropical diseases in Europe

Time: 10:30 – 12:00

Room: X-Hammerbrook

• Right to health and access to drugs for NTDs in Italy: challenges and solutions
• Barriers to health services access for chronic forms of schistosomiasis in Europe
• The long road to chagas treatment: Why spain must do better
• Current therapeutic gaps in the treatment of tropical diseases in Belgium

 

Organised Session: Hot topics in schistosomiasis research

Time: 16:00 – 17:30

Room: X-HafenCity

• Findings from the Praziquantel in Preschool Children Trial
• The ADOPT programme for the roll out of the paediatric praziquantel formulation: the Case of Uganda
• The importance of a comprehensive and comparable health outcome for schistosomiasis monitoring, evaluation and research: from health-related quality of life to capability wellbeing
• Understanding Capabilities, Wellbeing and Quality of life in limited-resource settings with varying schistosomiasis endemicities in Cameroon
• Applicability and performance of 6 standard and new diagnostic tests in the schistosomiasis elimination setting Pemba, Tanzania
• Approaches to treatment and surveillance in a very low S. haematobium setting in Pemba Island, Tanzania

 

Date: 02.10.2025

Organised Session: Women for One Health: Empowering women in One Health – Overcoming barriers, shaping solutions

Time: 08:30 – 10:00

Room: YNeustadt

• Prevalence and co-infection dynamics of human papillomavirus and female genital schistosomiasis among women of reproductive age in Kilifi County, Kenya
• Educating women for impact: How training women enhances One Health and medicine
• Integrating gender and veterinary medicine for global impact
• How gender barriers hinder effective implementation of the One Health approach

Organised Session: Control of neglected tropical diseases: are we close to the 2030 targets?

Time: 10:15 – 11:45

Room: Z-St. Pauli

• The 2021–2030 neglected tropical disease road map: progress, challenges and the path ahead
• A clear vision: Combating River Blindness through Collaborative Action
• Country-Led Models for NTD Control in Africa
• Control and Elimination of Chagas Disease as a public health problem: what to do to accelerate the path
• Leishmaniasis: on track for 2030? Assessing progress against the WHO Road Map for NTDs

 

Organised Session: Controlled human infection models in tropical medicine

Time: 10:15 – 11:45

Room: X-Altstadt

• Developing a genetically attenuated malaria vaccine through controlled human malaria infection studies
• Controlled human malaria infection beyond Plasmodium falciparum
• Controlled Human Hookworm infection model and challenge studies in an endemic area of Lambaréné , Gabon 
• Controlled human infections with schistosomes – on the road to vaccines
• Controlled human malaria infection using local Plasmodium falciparum isolates in Africa

 

Posters:

29.09.2025

• P011: The impact of maternal schistosomiasis on the offspring immune system via changes to the maternal microbiota and metabolome
• P141: Challenges in schistosoma diagnostics – Comparing UCP-lF CAA and POC-CCA in preschool-aged children in three endemic regions of Madagascar
• P142: POC-CCA3 – Reducing batch-to-batch variation in the WHO-endorsed POC-CCA for Schistosoma mansoni and improving test interpretation
• P 247: Seasonal distribution and cercarial shedding of Bulinus spp. snails – Implications for urogenital schistosomiasis control in the Simiyu Region, northwestern Tanzania

01.10.2025

• P310: Schistosomiasis in the Czech Republic – A case report and a 20-Year overview
• P316: Urogenital schistosomiasis in travelers – A family with Vulvar and Bladder involvement after freshwater exposure in Malawi
• P435: Usefulness of real-time PCR for diagnosing urogenital schistosomiasis in adults from Cubal, Angola
• P436: Applicability of real-time PCR for the diagnosis of imported schistosomiasis
• P437: Sensitive and specific diagnosis of Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium from field-collected urine SAMPLES from Tanzania, Africa
• P438: A case report of hepatosplenic schistosomiasis with consequent portal hypertension leading to transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt implantation
• P439: Updating standardized WHO assessment of schistosomiasis-related pathology with focused point-of-care ultrasonography
• P440: Evolution of periportal fibrosis due to schistosomiasis after praziquantel treatment in a cohort of adult patients in an endemic area – Preliminary results of a prospective study in Madagascar
• P441: The utility of two different elastography devices and conventional ultrasound in detecting hepatic fibrosis among patients presenting with Schistosoma mansoni related hepatosplenic disease at the endoscopy unit, of Nansio district hospital, Ukerewe district, north-western Tanzania
• P442: Community stakeholders’ perspectives on the involvement of traditional healers to enhance adult community members participation in mass drug administration against intestinal schistosomiasis and health seeking behaviours in endemic foci of north-western Tanzania

• P443: Optimizing social mobilization and sensitization strategies for paediatric schistosomiasis treatment uptake in Uganda – Insights from implementation research
• P444: Health impact of mass drug administration for schistosomiasis in preschool- and school-aged children in Uganda – A modelling study
• P447: Knowledge of schistosomiasis among the caregivers of young children in the Boeny and Matsiatra Ambony region, Madagascar – A cross-sectional study
• P448: Healthcare-seeking behaviour for schistosomiasis treatment among preschool-aged children in Uganda's lakeside communities
• P450: Effect of behavioral interventions on schistosomiasis-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices of school children in Pemba, Tanzania – Results of a 3-year study
• P451: Knowledge gaps in community health workers' understanding of schistosomiasis transmission – Implications for schistosomiasis control in Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, and Uganda
• P453: Resistance Evaluation and Surveillance Initiative for Schistosomiasis Treatment (RESIST)
• P455: Prediction of the emergence of drug resistance in Schistosoma haematobium on Pemba Island, Zanzibar
• P456: Evaluating the diagnostic performance of UCP-LF CAA for the detection of female genital schistosomiasis in comparison to colposcopy-based visual diagnosis – A cross-sectional study from rural Madagascar
• P458: Diagnostic accuracy and interrater reliability of colposcopy for female genital schistosomiasis implemented at primary level of care
• P459: Prevalence of placental schistosomiasis and associations with adverse birth outcomes among pregnant women in Agogo, Ghana – Schisto-SGA/Agogo-2000
• P460: Multi-country assessment of the prevalence of female genital schistosomiasis (MAP-FGS) – The example of implementation challenges of complex health interventions in Madagascar
• P461: Evaluation of the implementation of health services at primary level of care for female genital schistosomiasis in Madagascar
• P462: Female Genital Schistosomiasis – A comparative study between Zanzibar and Madagascar shedding light on onset and progression determinants
• P464: Impact of chemical snail control on intermediate host snail populations for urogenital schistosomiasis elimination in Pemba, Tanzania – Findings of a 3-year intervention study
• P465: Seasonal and spatial dynamics of freshwater snail populations and schistosomiasis transmission in Mizan Aman, Ethiopia
• P466: How to control schistosomiasis outbreaks – A mathematical modelling study