Swiss TPH
Swiss TPH
Location: Basel
Discipline: Health
Affiliation: University of Basel
The Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), former Swiss Tropical Institute (STI), has been founded in 1943. It has research and teaching activities in the arear of international health development. In June 2009 the Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine of the University of Basel, active in the areas of environmental epidemiology and women’s health, was integrated into the Swiss TPH.
Today over 500 employees from 40 nations work worldwide for the Swiss TPH in research, teaching and services with the main goal to contribute to health development worldwide.
As an associate institute of the University of Basel, the Swiss TPH takes part in teaching within various faculties, as well as is engaged in post-graduate education and advanced training on national and international levels.
The Swiss TPH receives 81% of its income through competitive fundraising and the earnings of our service departments. The remaining budget is given by the Basel cantons and the Swiss federal government.
The JeuneS3 (Santé, Sécurité, Sexualité) programme, which focused on improving adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health in four Francophone African countries, has come to a close after four successful years. Swiss TPH, within a consortia led by Cordaid, contributed to the implementation of the national life skills education programme in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which supported young people being able to make informed decisions about their health, and to ensure that their rights are respected.
In the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft, antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 have been detected in approximately 21% of the adult population. Therefore, seroprevalance has markedly increased since autumn of last year. Furthermore, the COVCO-Basel study by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) is now publishing preliminary results regarding the effects that the pandemic and the measures implemented to contain it are having on the well-being and lifestyles of the population for the first time.
Over the past two decades, substantial progress has been made in reducing the global burden of malaria through vector control interventions and improved access to diagnosis and treatment. Despite this progress, much work still lies ahead. To address this, Swiss TPH has launched a new 3-year modelling project to support National Malaria Control Programmes with their decision-making on malaria control efforts.
We are deeply saddened to learn of the unexpected passing of Dr. Reinhard Glück. He passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, 19 April, 2021, shortly before reaching the age of 70.
Strongyloidiasis, a parasitic worm infection caused by soil-transmitted helminths, remains a neglected public health problem with limited treatment options. Swiss TPH researchers conducted the first dose-finding study with moxidectin against strongyloidiasis. The drug could become a treatment alternative to the only treatment available so far and help fill the empty anthelminthic drug pipeline.
The need for effective COVID-19 treatments remains particularly acute, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where access to vaccines is still extremely limited. The ANTICOV clinical trial, which is consortia led by DNDi with partners including Swiss TPH, has started the recruitment of participants to test a new drug combination, nitazoxanide and ciclesonide, to treat people with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 before their cases become severe.
In the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft, antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 have been detected in approximately 21% of the adult population. Therefore, seroprevalence has markedly increased since autumn of last year. Furthermore, the COVCO-Basel study by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) is now publishing preliminary results regarding the effects that the pandemic and the measures implemented to contain it are having on the well-being and lifestyles of the population for the first time.
Jennifer Keiser, Head of the Helminth Drug Development Unit at Swiss TPH, was awarded a European Research Council Advanced Grant for EUR 2.47 million over five years to conduct research on soil-transmitted helminth infections. The highly competitive grant supports researchers who are conducting cutting-edge research in their field.
Bad news for allergy sufferers: The rising temperatures over the past three decades have impacted the onset, duration and intensity of the pollen season in Switzerland. These are the results of a study by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) in collaboration with the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss). The study, published yesterday on 31 March 2021 in the peer-reviewed journal Science of the Total Environment, is the most comprehensive investigation into pollen due to climate change done so far in Switzerland.
A trial aiming to find a better treatment for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has stopped enrolling patients early after its independent data safety and monitoring board indicated that the regimen being studied is superior to current care, and that more patient data was extremely unlikely to change the trial's outcome. Swiss TPH's Clinical Operations Unit is responsible for the monitoring of the trial.
