On 17 September, the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine of the NOVA University of Lisbon (IHMT NOVA) marked International Microorganism Day with a social media campaign aimed at the general public.
The date commemorates the first observation of single-celled organisms in 1683 by Anton van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch merchant with no prior knowledge of the subject, who reported his discovery in a letter sent to the Royal Society of London.
Throughout the day, several IHMT NOVA experts shared digital content that helped demystify the role of microorganisms and explain their impact on public health, with an emphasis on topics such as HIV, hepatitis, arboviruses, leptospirosis, Lyme disease and antiretroviral resistance — areas that also reflect the strategic research carried out by the Institute in microbiology, parasitology, virology and infectious diseases.
In addition to this initiative, IHMT NOVA was also present at the session of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences entitled ‘Stories of Microbiology at the Lisbon Academy of Sciences: from the Vaccine Institution to the first Pasteurians’, with the participation of Professor Miguel Viveiros in the discussions dedicated to the history of microbiology and Pasteur’s legacy.
Watch the videos by IHMT NOVA researchers and learn about the world of microorganisms.