The Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Antwerp says that there is mounting concern about malaria parasites becoming resistant to first-line treatments. ITM announced on Friday that it is launching a new project to better monitor the rising number of malaria cases among people returning to Belgium.
New monitoring network launched amid concerns about drug-resistant malaria parasites
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A new national network called be-IMPACT, aims to improve both the prevention and treatment of malaria among people returning form travel abroad. 7 hospitals that are located in all 3 of Belgium’s regions with the Institute of Tropical Medicine on the project. The project will run until the end of 2028 and is receiving funding from the Flemish Government.
Over the past decade, the number of malaria infections among travellers returning to Belgium has doubled. A peak occurred in 2023, when more than 500 cases were reported. At the same time, researchers are seeing increasing instances of treatments failing to cure the disease.
ITM’s lead researcher Anna Rosanas-Urgell told the press agency Belga that “By combining different areas of expertise, we can address blind spots in prevention, follow-up, and resistance. This way, we strengthen care for malaria patients in Belgium.”
Research into prevention, treatment and resistance
The project will focus on three main areas. Social scientists will study travellers’ behaviour and risk perception, examine why some people do not consistently take preventive measures against malaria and look at how prevention strategies could be improved.
“Doctors must evaluate whether current treatments are still sufficiently effective,” the ITM said. The aim is also to organise and monitor care for malaria patients across the network using the same standards.
In addition, laboratory researchers will analyse malaria parasites from samples collected in the hospitals that are taking part. This will help determine how often treatment resistance occurs and which treatments may be losing their effectiveness. The research will also seek to identify where infections originated.
Dr Rosanas-Urgell says that “This information is important for patients without recent travel to a malaria-endemic are. We are talking about so-called airport malaria, or malaria with a complex travel history.”
Cooperation
The initiative is the first time that hospitals across Belgium’s 3 regions have collaborated in a coordinated effort on malaria research.
The be-IMPACT network includes the Institute of Tropical Medicine as well as Antwerp Universty Hospital, Ghent University Hospital, the Sint-Pieter and Saint Luc hospitals in Brussels, the Sart-Tilman Hospital in Liège and the Humani – Marie Curie Hospital in Charleroi.