Research Group Heussler (Malaria I) - Bernhard-Nocht-Institut für ...

ten brochures containing country-by-country advice or
use our telephone travel advice line which ist run in cooperation
with a call center. Additionally the Centre for
Travel Advice elaborated and sold specialised up-todate
travel advice software for general practitioners and
company doctors.
Continued Education and Teaching
The Clinical Department of the Bernhard Nocht Institute
for Tropical Medicine maintains intensive activities in
the scope of continued education and lectures, e. g.
for medical trainees and preregistration house officers.
There are furthermore ectures held for general practitioners
and hospital doctors – especially the so-called
“Day of Travel Health” (Tag der Reisemedizin) offered
in the beginning of each year, with more than 300 participants.
The Head of the Clinical Department is authorized to
train doctors for three years in internal medicine and
for one year in tropical medicine.
Staff members of the Clinical Department are involved
– often in responsible positions – in Committees
of the German Society for Tropical Medicine and International
Health (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Tropenmedizin
und Internationale Gesundheit – DTG) for the development
of guidelines and travel advice regulations.
The DTG worked out a curriculum regarding a
“Travel Medicine Certificate” to provide general practitioners
with basic knowledge in travel medicine – the
Clinical Department was also involved in the elaboration
of this curriculum.
Clinical Research
The present clinical research is scheduled to supplement
the pure biomedical research taking place in the
laboratories of the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical
Medicine. Thus, the Clinical Department mainly carries
out diagnostic studies aiming at the elaboration of
so-called Standard Operating Procedures for various
syndromes, improvement of already existing diagnostic
procedures and the development of new diagnostic
procedures. These investigations are carried out in
close cooperation with the Institute’s Section for
Medical Microbiology. There are, e. g., investigations
as to the value of various diagnostic methods in case
of giardiasis.
There are running clinical therapy trials aiming at
the improvement of therapy concerning patients with
infectious and tropical diseases, as e. g. an application
study of the malaria drug Artemether-Lumefantrin.
On the other hand, clinical research mainly concentrates
on studies regarding the pathophysiology of
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malaria; there are at present investigations studying
heart problems in patients with falciparum malaria. The
aim of this investigation is to trace how far a possible
cardiac failure occurring in falciparum malaria patients
aggravates pulmonary oedema resulting from capillary
leak syndrome. Such studies have strong effects as regards
to the fluid balance and transfusion management
for patients with complicated falciparum malaria.
In this context, the Clinical Department of the Bernhard
Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, organized
a malaria workshop from July 2nd to 4th 2003 inviting
experts from all over Germany.
A further topic of interest in the past year were
investigations in relation with HIV-infection and chronic
hepatitis.
Gerd Burchard
Clinical Department