On April 29, 2024, Immunologists from the Ifakara Health Institute and other partner institutions in Tanzania, through the Tanzania Immunology Society, hosted a symposium on the International Day of Immunology in collaboration with the Kenya Society for Immunology.

The 3-hour discussion focued on this year's theme, “Immunity Through the Ages: Navigating the Science of Aging and Immunology.”

From the discussions participants gained a better understanding of the relationship between immunity and aging in relation to aspects such as diets, infections, co-infections and vaccination. Keynote presentations included discussions on the relationship between diet and immune aging, as well as the development of natural acquired immunity to malaria. 

Additionally, short presentations covered subjects like infection-induced premature immune aging, immune responses induced by malaria-specific vaccines, the impact of maternal malaria infection during pregnancy on the risk of neonatal EBV, and the phenomenon of HIV trapping in human cervicovaginal mucus.