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LaraVB

@laravb.bsky.social
451 followers 529 following 61 posts

👩‍🔬 Postdoc in MedMicro at UKB and Uni Bonn | working on antibiotics, cell wall, Wolbachia, NTDs 📝 Section editor at Student Network for Open Science e.V. she/her ORCID: 0000-0002-3066-1841

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Erin Purcell @erinpurcell.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
'We have replaced the danger of mouth-pipetting with the danger of a generation of scientists spending their most productive years writing grants that will not be funded. This is its own form of danger, just slower and less honest than the phenol.' Onion-level satire with a side of 'oooof.'
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Excited to be here! Come by my poster #018 today and say hi 😊 #AMR #antibiotics #GAMRIC2026
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Costa Rica Kid @zymplex.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Why it’s time for Democratic socialism!
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Nature @nature.com · 15/05/2026
Antibiotics designed by AI, and other key developments in the ongoing battle against antimicrobial resistance go.nature.com/4twQntn
go.nature.com
Six key developments in the fight against antimicrobial resistance
Antibiotics designed by artificial intelligence, immunotherapy for resistant infections and other highlights from studies and trials.
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Back to beautiful Mosbach for the 77th #MosbacherKolloquium of the @gbmev.bsky.social. Excited to learn more about #membranes and discuss recent developments in the field.
View of the old town of Mosbach with its typical half-timbered housesView of the conference venue, the "Alte Mälzerei"View of the full lecture hall for the opening of the conferenceOne slide of the introductory talk (primer) of the conference. It reads:

"What we are going to do today is...
...taking a 10 nm walk through the lipid bilayer

...taking a fast trip through 100 years of membrane biology

...flipping through recent highlights and developments in the field

...take off for a wonderful 77th Mosbacher Kolloquium"
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Very convenient way to a conference - tram from home directly to the venue 🚋 Thanks for two great days at #DZIFPEG2026 in Bonn. It was especially nice to reconnect with collaborating labs and meet new colleagues in #infectionbiology and #AMR. Bonus for me and my Spanish colleague: churros! 😄
Collage of four photos from the DZIF PEG 2026 meeting in Bonn. Top left: me standing in front of my poster. Bottom left: a conference slide displayed in the lecture hall reading “DZIF/PEG Joint Meeting 2026, Bonn.” Top right: view from the first floor down into the foyer with tables, catering, and conference participants networking. Bottom right: me and my Spanish colleague smiling and holding churros during a break.
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
On #WorldNTDDay, I’m arriving in Berlin for a seminar on effective altruism and how to choose a career that actually makes a difference. A good moment to think about neglected diseases, among other overlooked global challenges. #EndTheNeglect
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Simon Hammann @simonhammann.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
DFG erlaubt Einsatz von KI in der Begutachtung. Wenn wir jetzt noch die AI dazu kriegen, die komplette Forschung zu machen, haben wir den Menschen komplett von der Last des Forschungsprozzeses befreit und er kann sich komplett auf wichtige Dinge wie Reisekostenerstattungsanträge konzentrieren.
dfg.de
Künstliche Intelligenz in der Begutachtung
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Schaufler Lab (GEAR@HIOH) @schauflerlab.org · 24/11/2025
While a week #WAAW of focusing on #AMR has come to an end, the fight against the silent pandemic continues. 100 faces against AMR! (by DNAMR) #WAAW2025 #AMR #OneHealth #HealthForAll @helmholtzhzi.bsky.social de.linkedin.com/posts/deutsc...
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
While facing deadlines, writing grants, revising a paper and wondering whether I'll still have a job in 2026 #IchbinHanna, it was such a welcome change to officially open the Christmas market in #Bonn with our orchestra yesterday. #LifeOutsideTheLab #PostdocLife 1/2
Collage of two photos: on the left, the Bonn Christmas market at Sterntor with the orchestra stage in view; on the right, me playing the euphonium.
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Catherine Feore @catherinefeore.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
The EU/EEA is off track in meeting four of its five antimicrobial resistance targets. #WAAW #AntimicrobialResistance #AntimicrobialResistanceAwarenessWeek www.vitalsigns.news/europe-is-cu...
vitalsigns.news
Europe not on track to meet four of five AMR targets
New data from the ECDC shows the threat of antimicrobial resistance, known as ‘the silent killer’, continues to rise across the EU
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Ineos Oxford Institute for antimicrobial research @ineosoxford.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
💙It’s #WorldAMRAwarenessWeek! 80 years ago, penicillin changed modern medicine - but how does it work? And how do bacteria resist? 👉Read more to learn how the IOI protects our life-saving antibiotics: ineosoxford.shorthandstories.com/80-years-of-... #WAAW #KeepAntibioticsWorking
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Persimmons for Peace @uniblonder.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Jane Goodall has died. What a wonderful, inspiring life. RIP, Dr. Jane Goodall. #RIPJaneGoodall
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
Greetings from the #GreatWallSymposium in beautiful Sicily! 🌊☀️ Inspiring talks, great people, and the perfect backdrop of sunshine and sea - science is even more fun with this view! Check out poster 15 to learn about the cell wall mystery of #Wolbachia. #GWS2025 #antibiotics #ScienceByTheSea
View of the blue sea under a blue sky.View of the Sicilian coast with clear blue sea, dark volcanic rocks, and a terrace with white lounge chairs and umbrellas.
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
🎓 PhD milestone – on my birthday! 🎉 Two weeks ago, I defended my PhD in Pharmacy on my 28th birthday (coincidence, but unforgettable!). A full lecture hall, friends & colleagues from abroad joining online, and afterwards a big celebration at our institute. (1/4) #PhDone #BirthdayDefense #PhDSky
I am wearing a big smile, white T-shirt and my self-made doctoral hat. I am standing in front of a bookshelf in the institute's seminar room. In Germany, it is a tradition that colleagues craft a unique doctoral hat for the PhD graduate. The hat has lots of details on top, prominently including small cell culture flasks. On the front, it reads "Dr. Lara".Collage consisting of 6 pictures.
Upper row:
1. My supervisor hands me a gift bag for children which reads "Schulende" (end of school). It is a self-made bag and usually reads "Schulstart" (beginning of school). 
2. The lecture hall with green chairs and a green ceiling wall.
3. Me and others laughing and holding glasses of champagne.

Lower row: 
4. The room with some of the people who were there standing and sitting.
5. Picture taking directly after they placed the doctoral hat on me. My arms are close to the hat - it was heavy and I was afraid that it would fall.
6. Gift table with flowers, the doctoral hat and a big box with lots of different snacks and a photo book about my time as a PhD student. In the middle is a lab-themed card which was drawn by another PhD student.
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ASAPbio @asapbio.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
📣 We are pleased to announce that recruitment for 2025-26 Crowd Preprint Reviewers & Leads is open! 📝 The goal of the Crowd Preprint Review initiative is to provide an engaging environment for researchers to participate in giving feedback on preprints and support public reviews of preprints.
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Mark A. Hanson @hansonmark.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
New from The Strain Team: 🎊 Springer Nature Discovers MDPI 🎊 Springer Nature has spawned a copycat journal series called "Discover" mimicking #MDPI journal titles and citation behaviours. We even made a browser game to prove it (see 🔗). Gross! 😀 1/n #ResearchIntegrity #SciPub #AcademicSky
the-strain-on-scientific-publishing.github.io
Spinger Nature Discovers MDPI – The Strain on Scientific Publishing
Home page for the paper ‘The Strain on Scientific Publishing’ by Mark A Hanson, Dan Brockington, Paolo Crosetto and Pablo Gomez Barreiro
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Simon Hammann @simonhammann.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Es ist alles sehr bizarr
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WHO @who.int · 17/05/2025
Did you know❓ Cycle lanes account for just 0.2% of the current road infrastructure. It’s time to demand safer streets that put the health & safety of pedestrians & cyclists first 👉 bit.ly/4jPzXsa #RoadSafety #StreetsforLife
A poster shows a cyclist riding in a bike lane separated from car traffic. The text reads: “The world would be better with more cycling lanes that PROTECT CYCLISTS. Yet very few roads have them!”
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Pint of Science World @pintsworld.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
3 weeks to go before #pint25!! 📅 19-21 May 2025 🗺️ 27 countries 📍+520 cities 🫂👩‍🔬🎉Thousands of scientists and volunteers celebrating science around the globe!! 🦕🦴🧬🦋🪨👓🧠🔭🫀👩‍🔬📚🧫🧪🌎🕷️ All the details here. Join the party! pintofscience.com
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Marianne Roca @marianneroca.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
🧠🍻 Pint of Science #Pint25DE is coming to Bonn! Join us 19–21 May to grab a drink and listen to fascinating talks (english or german) on neuroscience, astronomy,...! Check the program 👉 pintofscience.de/events/bonn Not in Bonn? #Pint25 is happening around the world, look for the one close to you!
pintofscience.de
Bonn
Explore Pint of Science Deutschland events in Bonn
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Denis Wirtz @deniswirtz.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
We have updated our database of funding opportunities for Early-Career Researchers (private foundations, federal, international) We have 456 entries, for which we provide $ amount, deadline, eligibility criteria, etc. Download this massive database here for free: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-...
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Hanna Engelmeier @hannaengelmeier.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
Warum stand dieses Geld denn nicht vorher zur Verfügung für all die Forschenden, die schon hier sind? Warum kommt es erst jetzt darauf an, attraktive Jobs (mit längeren Vertragslaufzeiten) zu schaffen? Wer sind "the best and the brightest"? Bitte nicht antworten, ich muss im Bad die Wand anbrüllen.
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 12/04/2025
So excited to be on my way to Okinawa for the #WolbachiaConference2025! Looking forward to great science and (re)connecting with old and new #Wolbachia peers. 🌸
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Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus @drtedros.who.int · 09/04/2025
It’s incredible to think that just 30 years ago there were 3.5 million cases of #GuineaWorm disease globally every year. In each of the last four years, there have been 15 cases or less. We are on the brink of an historic achievement.
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Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung (HZI) @helmholtzhzi.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
🔬The application deadline in our program "CURIOSITY IS INFECTIOUS" is less than a month away! 👉 Apply by April 20 for one of 16 exciting PhD projects - from host-pathogen interactions and novel antiinfectives to molecular mechanisms of infection and immunity. www.helmholtz-hzi.de/en/career/jo...
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Superbugs 🦠🔬🏫🧒🏽 @superbugs.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Check out our interactive timeline of some of the most devastating infectious diseases in history, alongside major advances in science and medicine that have helped control and prevent them. In English, Welsh, Gaelic, Irish, German and Spanish. 🦠🧫🔬💉 #CelebrateVaccines
superbugs.online
Timeline 'R' Us — Superbugs - The microbial world in, on and around us
Of superbugs and superheroes. Timeline 'R' Us – Explore devastating infections through the ages, alongside crucial scientific discoveries to help control them.
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Mariana Pinho @pinholab.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
We have 3 positions for students who want to start a PhD in the next 12 months. If you like advanced fluorescence microscopy techniques and S. aureus cell biology, check links and apply(April 4) euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/325394 euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/325395 euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/325396
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Already Day 3 of the #MosbacherKolloquium! Yesterday, Florestan introduced our relatively new group of #GBMPostdocs. Join us today at 7 pm if you’re interested (open to final-stage PhDs). No GBM membership required - however, the first year is free if you register before March 31. @gbmev.bsky.social
Florestan (spokesperson of the GBM Postdocs) introduces our group on stage. The board with its 4 members (including myself) is shown on the slide.The "Alte Mälzerei" in Mosbach, where the conference is taking place. The building’s windows reflect the bright blue sky.
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Total Internal Reflection🇬🇧🇺🇸🇺🇦 @tirscienceblog.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
#PubMed now back for me, but the damage is done. When you suddenly realise you maybe can’t rely on something you absolutely need to rely on, that’s when you start to look for alternatives. And that’s happening over & over again with anything USA-related right now 😢
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
🚨 Yesterday a bit after 4 pm CET (#PhDlife), I lost access to #PubMed & #PMC, and at first found no other posts on here (no wonder on a Saturday…). But, turns out: I wasn’t alone – users worldwide had the same issue. #NIH #OpenScience #AcademicSky
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
Roses are red, Violets are blue, Antibiotics fight bacteria, Not the seasonal flu. 💊🚫🤧 #AntibioticStewardship #AntibioticResistance #AMR #FluSeason #AcademicSky #IDSky
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Heather Ferguson @drheatherferg.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Today in global Neglected Tropical Diseases. These diseases place a devastating and unacceptable burden on some of the most vulnerable communities in the world. Working together, governments, communities, NGOs & researchers can #BeatNTDs #NTDs Learn more and see how @who.int is tackling 🧵
Tile with text only
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Today is #WorldNTDDay! 🌍 Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) such as river blindness and lymphatic filariasis urgently need new treatment options. These diseases are caused by filarial nematodes, which rely on #Wolbachia bacteria for survival. (1/2) #NTDs #AMR #Antibiotics #OneHealth
doi.org
Redirecting
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Alioth Fox (next con: Carolina FurFare) @aliothfox.ursamajorartworks.com · 13/11/2024
Just be prepared. We've all seen that headline going around today that Bluesky is the current #1 app, and X dropped out of the top 25. That means the absolute worst people in the world are going to be coming here trying to turn THIS place into just as much of a shithole. Block them. Don't engage.
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
@ all #peptidoglycan folks out there! #AcademicSky #PhDSky #GWS25 #cellwall
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Caroline Hu @hudrewthis.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
Seeking scientist volunteers for this spring! Want to practice science communication and help author a ✨comic✨ about your research? Learn more & sign up here by 1/30: bit.ly/comicscollabspring2025
Decorator crab that has added science motifs to its shell, such as cells, proteins, crystal structures, etc. Text says: "Call for scientists! Want to collaborate with an art student on a comic about your research? Learn more & sign up by 1/30: bit.ly/comicscollabspring2025."
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
#Throwback to a year ago today: I arrived in Umeå, Sweden, for my research stay. The #Cava lab gave me a warm welcome (unlike the weather – it was -21 °C!). I loved learning HPLC-MS analysis of #peptidoglycan and exploring snowy Umeå. ❄️ 1/3 #AcademicSky #PhDSky #PGN #CellWall #Fika
This is a collage with the main picture showing me, standing on snow in front of the Umeå Town Hall. I have integrated a picture from a thermometer showing that it had 21 °C in my flat, while it had -21 °C outside.The picture was taken in the city center of Umeå, in the direction of City Hall Square. In the foreground, 2 "stones" are glowing and fairy lights are strung between the trees. The sky is dark blue.Frost-covered branches shimmer in the sunlight, with intricate ice crystals visible against a blue sky. The blurred background shows a snowy mound and trees.View from the windows of the Bildmuseet towards Öbacka. The landscape is blanketed in snow, including the frozen Ume River, creating a serene winter scene.
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
I am extremely excited to announce that for the first time ever, Skype a Scientist is offering mini-grants to support IRL science communication!! Communicating science out in our communities is critical. We want to enable others to get their projects off the ground! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com
SCIENCE IRL: Community SciComm mini-grant
Skype a Scientist is offering $300-1,000 mini-grants to support boots-on-the-ground science communication. The Science IRL mini-grants will support projects that put either 1) important science messa...
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Natalie Bennett @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Drug resistance is not just an issue with #AMR - when it comes to disease prevention we are going to have to think a lot more about practical #PublicHealth measure www.livescience.com/health/virus...
livescience.com
'Wake-up call' as hookworm parasites that infect pets and people grow drug resistant
Hookworms that cause deadly dog infection and 'creeping eruption' in humans are growing resistant to drugs.
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Florian Aigner @florianaigner.at · 11/01/2025
Alice Weidel nennt Universitäten "queer-woke Kaderschmieden" und sagt: "Wir schließen alle Gender Studies und schmeißen alle diese Professoren raus". Die Naturwissenschafts-Community muss sich hier klar auf die Seite der Geistes- & Sozialwissenschaft stellen. Das ist ein Angriff auf alle. (Thread)
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Last year, I attended an international conference (April), a national conference, and a workshop (both in September). Still waiting for even a cent of reimbursement. 1/2 #IchbinHanna #Einkuscheln #Reisekosten #PhDSky #AcademicSky #AcademicPrecarity
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
About a million people die every year due to antimicrobial resistance. Causes: - Excessive and inappropriate use of antibiotics - 70% of antibiotics are given to livestock - No financial incentive to develop new antibiotics - no new antibiotic classes since 1980 www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
theguardian.com
Antibiotic emergency ‘could claim 40 million lives in next 25 years’
As superbugs spread across the globe, death rates from antimicrobial resistance are set to double, says England’s former chief medical officer
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
What a great idea! #ThankAMicrobe #Wolbachia #AcademicSky #MicroSky
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
I fell in love with #Ljubljana in the summer of 2017 and always wanted to come back. Now I'm thinking about coming back around Christmas. 🤩 I would add a #phage, #mosquito and an #antibiotic. #DNA spanning the street would be cool as well! #AcademicSky
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 29/12/2024
Exciting! Researchers at HIPS developed 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗢𝗧, a CRISPR-Cas9-based tool to activate hidden biosynthetic gene clusters. This has already led to the discovery of 39 new natural products in 4 classes! #AMR #DrugDiscovery #CRISPR-Cas9 #BGC #ACTIMOT
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Science News @scinews.bsky.social · 22/12/2024
My opinion: Scientists should get paid for thinking time "Thinking time is often undervalued; it is rarely, if ever, quantified in employment practices." www.nature.com/articles/d41...
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LaraVB @laravb.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
My Wolbachia-infected insect cells are cell-ebrating Christmas. Happy holidays everyone! 👩‍🔬🦟🦠🎄 #Wolbachia #PhDSky #AcademicSky
A cell culture flask with a confluent layer of insect cells, where "Merry Xmas" has been carved into the cell layer. The flask is held by a gloved hand over a centrifuge in the background.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
1/ Imagine being a kid, just vibing at school, when boom—a tapeworm decides to set up camp in your brain. 🧠🏕️ Welcome to the wildest, most unexpected outbreak Belgium has seen. And no, this isn’t an episode of House MD but it reads like it. I love ID #IDSky #MedSky www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
thelancet.com
Neurocysticercosis school outbreak in Belgium
Human cysticercosis results from ingesting microscopic Taenia solium eggs shed by a tapeworm carrier, forming cystic larvae (ie, cysticerci) in tissues. These larvae normally encyst in the pig, the natural intermediate host. Upon consumption by humans, they develop into a new intestinal tapeworm. Affecting the human brain, neurocysticercosis is responsible for a third of epilepsy cases in endemic tropical and subtropical regions.1,2
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