News 2026

The award recognized his presentation of the European multicenter study “Tuberculosis incidence in solid organ transplant recipients in Europe – A multicenter TBnet cohort study.” Conducted within the framework of the TBnet research network, the study investigated the risk of tuberculosis among more than 5,800 solid organ transplant recipients from eight European countries.

The findings demonstrate that while solid organ transplant recipients remain at increased risk of tuberculosis compared with the general population, the incidence was substantially lower than reported in many earlier studies. At the same time, marked regional variability was observed across Europe. These findings argue against a one-size-fits-all European approach and instead support regionally tailored tuberculosis prevention strategies for transplant recipients.

In addition to the award-winning presentation, Dr. Brehm contributed several other lectures to the scientific program. In his review lecture, “Update on Anti-Tuberculosis Drugs,” he summarized recent developments in tuberculosis treatment. He also presented “Interferon-Gamma Release Assays (IGRAs) Should Neither Be Used to Confirm Nor Exclude Active Tuberculosis,” discussing the evidence-based use of immunological tests in tuberculosis diagnostics.

Young investigators from Borstel and Hamburg were also represented at the congress. Margarita Abasheeva, a doctoral researcher at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) and the Research Center Borstel, presented the case report “Surviving the Storm: Severe Central Nervous System Tuberculosis with Paradoxical Abscess Formation.”Her presentation highlighted the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges associated with severe central nervous system tuberculosis and paradoxical abscess development.

“This award is a recognition of the outstanding collaboration within TBnet and the commitment of numerous colleagues from across Europe,” said Brehm. “KIT 2026 was an excellent congress that clearly demonstrated how vibrant, innovative, and scientifically strong the field of infectious diseases is in Germany.”

Publication
Lange B, Brehm TT, Arend SM, Arias-Guillén M, Bakker M, Berastegui C, Babiker M, Charif R, Duarte R, Flick H, Hofland RW, Ismail J, Kniepeiss D, Krepel J, Krishnan N, Kuijpers DL, Kunst H, van Leth F, Lezaic V, Los-Arcos I, Machová J, Milburn H, Morais SA, Kon OM, Osoro-Suarez C, Pessegueiro Miranda H, Pesut D, Rahman A, Reischig T, Sánchez-Montalvá A, Spohn HE, Stegenga MT, de Vries APJ, Wagner D, Wobser R, Lange C, Sester M. Tuberculosis incidence in solid organ transplant recipients in Europe: A multicenter TBnet cohort study. J Infect. 2026 Jan;92(1):106668. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2025.106668. Epub 2025 Dec 20. PMID: 41429410.

Kontakt