World Malaria Day

125 years of research into an often fatal disease

Malaria remains one of the world's most dangerous infectious diseases: According to the latest World Malaria Report from the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 260 million people fell ill in 2023, and more than half a million died – most of them children under the age of five in Africa.

Fluorescence microscope image of a liver schizon in hepatoma cells 48 hours after infection. An orange-shimmering cell can be seen with a green fluorescent parasite worm at its edge. Fixed and stained with anti-Exp1 (green) and Lysotracker (red). DNA in blue.

©BNITM | Volker Heussler

The Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM) has been dedicated to malaria research since its founding 125 years ago. On the eve of World Malaria Day, the institute invited to a public information event – with insights into the history and present of research:

Prof. Dr. Rolf Horstmann, former Chairman of the Board of the BNITM, talked about genetic protective mechanisms against severe malaria in children in Ghana.
Dr. Nicole Gilberger, a biologist at the institute, looked back on more than a century of research – from the drug quinine to Giemsa staining.
Dr. Tobias Spielmann, cell biologist and parasitologist, explained how his team is tracking down the malaria pathogen at the molecular level – especially where the Nobel Prize-winning drug artemisinin is no longer effective.

The photo shows researcher Dr Nicole Gilberger standing in front of the blackboard in the BNITM lecture hall, gesturing to the audience. — Dr Nicole Gilberger ©BNITM | Dino Schachten

[Translate to English:] Das Foto zeigt gefüllte Publikumsreihen im Hörsaal des BNITM. — [Translate to English:] Im Hörsaal ©BNITM | Dino Schachten

A disease with a history – and current challenges

As early as 1900, malaria was a central topic at the then "Institute for Maritime and Tropical Diseases" – particularly among sailors who came to Hamburg from overseas. Diagnostic procedures were significantly developed at the BNITM: The Giemsa stain used worldwide today to visualize the pathogen in blood originated in a laboratory at the institute.

Since then, research has achieved a great deal – from everyday clinical practice to high-tech. Today, BNITM researchers are investigating, among other things, how malaria parasites adapt genetically, how they hide in human blood cells – and how new therapies can be targeted.

Prof. Dr Jürgen May, Chairman of the BNITM Executive Board: ‘Malaria is not just a disease of the past – it remains a challenge for global health. Despite major advances, hundreds of thousands of people die from it every year. As a research institute, we have a responsibility to find new ways to combat it. But this requires reliability: the setbacks during the coronavirus pandemic and current budget cuts – for example in the United States – show how dangerous political short-sightedness can be. Global health research needs stable funding, especially in times of crisis.’

Portrait photo of Prof. Dr Jürgen May, an experienced, friendly-looking researcher — Prof. Dr Jürgen May ©BNITM | Dino Schachten

Malaria research today: international and interdisciplinary

At the BNITM, researchers from many disciplines work closely with partners in Africa, Asia, and South America. Current focuses include:

Resistance research
Why is artemisinin no longer effective everywhere?
Immunology and host-parasite interactions
How does the immune system react – and how does the parasite manage to evade or deceive it?
Cell biology and molecular parasitology
How does the parasite invade human cells? Where are there approaches to specifically disrupting it?
Imaging and diagnostics
How can the infection be visualized – and what do individual cells tell us about the course of the disease?
Clinical trials and drug trials
How effective are new therapies, and how can their efficacy be measured under real-world conditions?

About the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM)

The Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM) is Germany's largest institution for research, care, and teaching in the field of tropical and emerging infectious diseases. BNITM's research priorities have always been viewed from the perspective of Global Health/One Health and from the perspective of translation – the transfer of basic research into practical applications. This research approach is also reflected in the institute's five departments: Pathogen (pathogen) -> Interface (immunology, host/pathogen) -> Patient (clinical) -> Population (epidemiology) -> Implementation (successful establishment of knowledge).

Current thematic focuses include malaria, hemorrhagic fever viruses, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), immunology, epidemiology and the clinical presentation of tropical infections, as well as the mechanisms of virus transmission by mosquitoes. The institute has laboratories with the highest biological safety level (BSL4) and a safety insectarium (BSL3) for handling highly pathogenic viruses and infected insects. The BNITM's mobile laboratories are available for global outbreak control of highly pathogenic or highly infectious viruses.

The BNITM is a National Reference Center for the detection of all tropical infectious agents, a consulting laboratory for Bornaviruses, a WHO Collaborating Center for Arboviruses and Hemorrhagic Fever Viruses, a WHO Collaborating Center for Behavioral Science for Global Health, and an institute within the Leibniz Association.

Together with the Ghanaian Ministry of Health and the University of Kumasi, the BNITM operates a modern research and training center in the West African rainforest, which is also available to external research groups. The institute also maintains numerous other collaborations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

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