Research Group Coordinator – Marcelo Urbano Ferreira
The Individual Health Care (IHC) Research Group, created in 2018, promotes translational and implementation research on tropical diseases, travel medicine, and migrant health to improve (1) the diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and control of malaria and other febrile diseases in the tropics, (2) the child and reproductive health care of vulnerable populations, including migrants and residents in low- and middle-income countries, and (3) the prevention of travel-associated health conditions. The IHC group coordinates the Travel Medicine Course, and the Tropical Health Master course and participates in other Master and PhD courses at IHMT.
Over the past two years, IHC has focused on field-based clinical and epidemiological research in the Tropics. Activities include ongoing research projects in Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Mozambique, and São Tomé and Príncipe. We highlight some of these research activities led by IHC members in 2023.
IHC Highlights
- The phase 1 of the first clinical trial of single-dose oral acoziborole for gambiense human African trypanosomiasis in children was completed in July 2023, with 9 patients successfully treated.
- A clinical trial of oral fexinidazole for rhodesiense human African trypanosomiasis was completed in 2023, with 45 patients treated with no severe adverse effects. Only one patient relapsed.
- An analysis of the causes and risk factors for perinatal and neonatal morbidity and mortality in São Tome and Principe showed that twin pregnancy, prolonged rupture of membranes, and presence of meconium in the amniotic fluid were associated with an increased risk of adverse birth outcomes.
- The causes and outcomes of acute febrile illnesses in southern Angola were the focus of a study with 500 children and adults enrolled until November 2023 in the two largest public hospitals in Lubango City, Huila Province (Figures 1-3).
- A field mission to the Brazilian Amazon was carried out in August 2023 to assess the prevalence and clinical manifestations of Mansonella ozzardi infection in 300 Tikuna Amerindians living along the Solimões river (Figures 4-5).
- The first edition of the Advanced Course on Clinical Investigation, targeted at researchers from Portuguese-speaking African Countries and supported by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, took place in October-December 2023.
