Photo of Culex in the lab during a blood meal with Q-Tip

©BNITM | Dino Schachten

Sleepless under the city lights

Research project on mosquito behaviour

Streetlights, warm nights, open windows: artificial light can keep mosquitoes active for longer. Evidence suggests they stay out later, bite over a longer span of hours and enter winter dormancy later. That could raise the risk of pathogens such as West Nile virus circulating more easily. In the LUMEN consortium project, an interdisciplinary team led by the BNITM is examining how risks can be predicted and reduced.

The photo shows a green rice field in Madagascar against a blue sky. A farmer is harvesting barefoot in fresh water.

©Jule Hameister

Award

When parasites slow down viruses

Barefoot in the rice fields, with water up to the ankles: In Madagascar, many people come into contact with the pathogens that cause schistosomiasis. The parasites are transmitted by freshwater snails. But why is there hardly any Dengue? Jana Hey investigated this in her dissertation and discovered surprising correlations. For her work, she received this year’s doctoral award from the Association of Friends and Supporters of BNITM.

The photo shows two men in white lab coats setting up a glove box.

©Uganda National Health Laboratory and Diagnostics Services (NHLDS)

Bundibugyo virus

East Africa deploys mobile laboratories

During the Ebola fever outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the East African Community has set up and put into operation its network of mobile laboratories at key border points. Over many years, BNITM has co-developed this network and trained the lab teams. With the EU-funded MOBILISE project, a mobile high‑containment laboratory truck is now being used in Tanzania for the first time.

Das Foto zeigt einen Ausschnitt einer Zellkulturplatte, in denen Hirnorgoinde kultiviert werden. Es sind 8 Wells zu sehen, die mit rosanem Zellkulturmedium gefüllt sind. In den Wells sind jeweils ein Hirnorganoid, also runde hautfarbene Gebilde, zu sehen.

©BNITM | Lina Widerspick

Publication

Ebola in the brain: new insights

Ebola viruses can hide in the central nervous system and remain dangerous months or even years after infection. Researchers at BNITM and their collaborators have used human cerebral organoids to investigate the mechanisms behind this viral persistence. The results, published in Nature Microbiology, provide important clues about the long-term consequences of Ebola infection.

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Es ist eine Landkarte von Europa zu sehen. Eingezeichnet sind rote Flächen, die die Gebiete, in den das WNV vorkommt, zeigen. Mit schwarzen Linien sind die Ausbreitungen des Virus dargestellt.

©Nagy A. et al. 2026

Publication

West Nile virus in Europe: New study puts Hungary in the spotlight

Why is Hungary considered a key country for the spread of West Nile virus in Europe? A new study by BNITM and Hungarian partner institutions shows how closely bird migration, wetlands, mosquitoes and climate change interact, and how the virus spreads from Hungary to many European countries. A One Health approach and genetic analyses are crucial for future early warning and prevention strategies.

The photo shows a hand wearing blue laboratory gloves holding a test tube labelled ‘BDBV’. In the background is a blue-and-red-stained electron microscope image of Ebola viruses.

©Adobe Stock | JUN LI

Bundibugyo Virus

Ebola outbreak in the DR of the Congo and Uganda

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, the rare Bundibugyo Ebola virus is spreading in regions affected by violence. Multiple epicentres, population movements and communities that are difficult to reach are hampering diagnosis, contact tracing and the provision of care. Assessments by researchers at the German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF).