UZA Lunch & Learn

Keynote Presentation: Dr. Koen Vanden Driessche, MD, PhD, DTM&H
Paediatric Infectious Diseases Specialist, UZA

Topic: Neurocysticercosis School Outbreak in Belgium 
(Published in The Lancet, Dec 14, 2024)
Presented on behalf of the Cysticercosis Outbreak Team

Two years ago, a child presented at UZA with a cystic lesion in an eye muscle, resembling a cysticercus. Cysticerci are larvae of the pork tapeworm—an infection believed to be eradicated in Belgium. Shortly afterward, a second child from the same school, this time with epilepsy, was found to have a similar lesion in the brain. It quickly became clear that something serious was going on.

What followed will be shared during the upcoming UZA Lunch & Learn session on May 20. After more than 100 brain scans were performed, nine cases of (neuro)cysticercosis were identified—marking this the largest outbreak of its kind ever reported worldwide.

Tackling this challenge was only possible thanks to the close collaboration between colleagues and partners from UZA, the University of Antwerp, the Institute of Tropical Medicine, UZ Ghent, Heilig Hart Hospital, CLB, Fluxus, Sciensano, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Lima, the Department of Care, and the ECDC in Stockholm.

A Case-Based talk on Cerebral Echinococcosis:
Following the keynote, we shift focus to cerebral echinococcosis, another parasitic condition caused by a tapeworm, with neurological impact, explored through a clinical case:

• Paulien Van der Speeten – Clinical case presentation
• Nathan Pauwels – Intraoperative Insights: Observations from the Surgical Field
• Arie Arensman – Medical management and an overview of tapeworm epidemiology

This session highlights the power of multidisciplinary collaboration - combining clinical curiosity, scientific investigation, and public health coordination - to improve how we detect and respond to rare infections. It brings together perspectives from paediatrics, neurology, neurosurgery, infectious diseases, radiology, ophthalmology, microbiology, pathology, and tropical medicine, making it especially relevant for anyone working in or interested in these fields.