The National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine is located in subtropical Houston, Texas, an international hub and the most diverse city in the United States. NSTM’s location in combination with the significant multi-cultural population creates a unique clinical environment with locally and internationally acquired tropical diseases.
Harris Health System Adult Tropical Medicine Clinic
The NSTM at Baylor College of Medicine established a Tropical Medicine Clinic at Harris Health System's Smith Clinic (https://www.harrishealth.org/locations-hh/Pages/smith-clinic.aspx) in the Texas Medical Center in 2011. The clinic evaluates, diagnoses and manages adult patients with neglected tropical diseases. Neglected tropical diseases are infectious pathogens including parasites, fungi, viruses and bacteria that disproportionately affect person’s living in resource limited tropical regions globally. Now commonly known as infections of poverty. New evidence indicates a hidden burden of tropical disease in the poorest parts of the United States, including South Texas. We are available to answer any questions you may have related to tropical diseases, particularly:
- Neurocysticercosis
- Chagas disease
- Leishmaniasis
- Malaria
- Dengue fever
- Intestinal protozoa
- Soil-transmitted helminths
- Zoonotic pathogens
Reviewing a Decade of Outpatient Tropical Medicine in Houston, Texas. Julika Kaplan, Fernando Hernandez Centeno, Jesica Hayon, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Peter J. Hotez, Jill E. Weatherhead, Eva Clark, and Laila Woc-Colburn.
A referral by a healthcare provider to the adult tropical medicine clinic can be made by faxing the completed referral form with relevant medical history to (713) 440-1190.
Texas Children’s Hospital Tropical Medicine Clinic
The NSTM at Baylor College of Medicine established a Pediatric Tropical Medicine Clinic at Texas Children’s Hospital in 2020. Due to the high rate of childhood poverty in the southern United States and the subtropical climate, neglected tropical diseases are commonly identified in children. Chagas disease, cysticercosis, Dengue, tuberculosis, strongyloidiasis, soil-transmitted helminths and toxocariasis are among several endemic tropical diseases that can be locally acquired in Texas. The Pediatric Tropical Medicine clinic diagnoses and manages pediatric patients with tropical diseases including neglected tropical diseases and infections of poverty. Clinicians within the Pediatric Tropical Medicine clinic also evaluate pediatric patients with post-travel syndromes.
A referral by a healthcare provider to the pediatric tropical medicine clinic can be made by calling Texas Children’s Hospital (832) 824-4330 or by completing the Infectious disease on-line referral form indicating Tropical Medicine Clinic.
International Tropical Medicine Case Conference
In 2022 the Baylor College of Medicine National School of Tropical collaborated with Houston Methodist, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (Lima, Peru), and Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Quito, Ecuador) to establish a quarterly International Case Conference. The objectives of the International Tropical Medicine Case Conference are to:
- Leverage international expertise for challenging tropical medicine cases
- Provide a "real-world" educational platform for trainees interested in tropical medicine
- Further establish clinical and scientific collaborative networks among our three countries.
For information on how to participate in the International Tropical Medicine Case Conference email tropmed@bcm.edu.