The objective of the Course is to prepare physicians for professional tasks in tropical and sub-tropical countries and to enable them to preventively care for visitors of warm climates, to diagnose and to treat imported tropical diseases and perform the relevant consultations.
Teaching concentrates on the pathogenesis, diagnosis, clinical entities, treatment, epidemiology, and prophylaxis of the parasitic, bacterial, viral and non-transmissible diseases of tropical countries. Addressed are the biology, epidemiology, and control of the causative agents, vectors and reservoirs. Additional topics include the characteristics of the various clinical disciplines in the tropical environment, problems of private and public health care in poor countries as well as structures and performance of developmental cooperation and disaster missions in medicine.
The central topic of the Course are human diseases characteristic for tropical climates. The curriculum is divided into twelve sections of one week each. Clinical differential diagnosis is the major guideline for the curriculum because most of the participants are practicing physicians. Taxonomy is the second criterion in order to facilitate systematic learning. Entomology is considered in its relation to the aetiology and transmission of disease and
therefore follows clinical classifications. Malaria because of its outstanding relevance is regarded as a separate topic.
The following curriculum is accepted by the German Federal Board of Physicians to be part of the official training programme for physicians to specialize in tropical medicine.
 

Week 1:	Introductions and essentials,  incl. principles in epidemiology, health sciences etc.
Week 2:	Systemic infections 1:  Malaria incl. entomology, laboratory methods, exercises etc.
Week 3:	Systemic infections 2: Viral and bacterial infections incl. entomology, laboratory methods, exercises etc.
Week 4:	Systemic infections 3: Other protozoal diseases, systemic mycoses incl. entomology, laboratory methods, exercises etc.
Week 5:	Intestinal diseases by protozoa, bacteria and viruses incl. laboratory methods, exercises etc.
Week 6:	Helminthic infections incl. entomology, laboratory methods, exercises etc.
Week 7:	Skin diseases, ophthalmology, malignancies in the tropics, etc.
Week 8:	Specific problems in certain disciplines incl. venereal diseases incl. HIV infection, tuberculosis, neurology and psychiatry, etc.
Week 9:	Specific problems in certain disciplines incl. paediatrics, malnutrition, mother-child-care, reproductive health, vaccination programmes, etc.
Week 10:	Public health, planning, financing, and implementation of health projects, etc.
Week 11:	Epidemiology and control, hereditary diseases, etc.
Week 12:	Differential diagnosis and rehearsals.

The Course starts out with one week of introductions reaching from the techniques of microscopy and fundamental immunology to basic epidemiology. In weeks 2 through 4, systemic febrile infections are dealt with, which are ordered according to relevance, clinical similarities and taxonomic aspects. They are followed by intestinal infections in week 5 and skin diseases in week 7, in between in week 6 helminth infections, which often share the hallmark of eosinophilia and primarily affect the intestine or the skin. In weeks 8 and 9, tropical peculiarities of the established medical disciplines are presented such as those in neurology, surgery, and gynaecology, and in weeks 10 and 11 specific problems in epidemiology, public health and developmental cooperation are being discussed. Week 12 contains summaries of clinical entities and exercises, and week 13 practical and theoretical examinations and celebrations.

Teaching is offered daily from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. A total of 300 lessons are given, accompanied by 45 hours of practical, mostly microscopic exercises. Approximately 50 patients with tropical diseases are presented and discussed. In addition, the German reference library for literature on tropical medicine is available for private studies.

The Course of the year 1997 was held from April 1st to June 27th. Fifty-four physicians, veterinarians, and biologists participated, and 51 participants received diplomas.
 
 

Institute Faculty

Dr. Barbara Bröker
Privatdozent Dr. Gerd D. Burchard
Professor Dr. Dietrich W. Büttner
Dr. Joachim Clos
Professor Dr. Manfred Dietrich
Professor Dr. Bernhard Fleischer
Professor Dr. Rolf Garms
Dr. Annette Gelhaus
Dr. Achim Hörauf
Dr. Thomas Hoppe
Professor Dr. Rolf Horstmann
Privatdozent Dr. Matthias Leippe
Dr. Ying-Ru Lo
Professor Dr. Paul Racz
Professor Dr. Herbert Schmitz
Professor Dr. Justus Schottelius
Dr. Hinrich Sudeck
Privatdozent Dr. Egbert Tannich
Professor Dr. Rolf Walter
 
 

Guest Faculty

Professor Dr. med. H. J. Diesfeld
Institut für Tropenhygiene und Öffentliches
Gesundheitswesen, Universität Heidelberg
Im Neuenheimer Feld 324, 69120 Heidelberg

Professor Dr. med. H. Ebert
Hafen- und Flughafenärztlicher Dienst
Großmannstraße 10, 20539 Hamburg

Dr. Chr. Eggers
Universitätsklinik Eppendorf, Neurologische Klinik
Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg

Dr. E. Hackenbruch
"Ärzte ohne Grenzen"
Adenauerallee 50, 53113 Bonn

Dr. med. M. G. Hartmann
Bardal 15, 21227 Bendestorf

Dr. med. C. Herlt-Wolff
Mühlenkamp 1, 21397 Barendorf

Dr. Chr. Heuschkel
Hoheneckstraße 55, 81243 München

Dr. med. K. Hoffmann
Zentrum für Psychiatrie, Landeskrankenhaus
78477 Reichenau

Dr. R. Hofmeier
Institut für Afrika-Kunde
Neuer Jungfernstieg 21, 20354 Hamburg

Professor Dr. med. R. Hubmann
Urologische Abteilung, Allgemeines Krankenhaus St. Georg
Lohmühlenstraße 5, 20099 Hamburg

Dr. med. Helmut Jäger
Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst (DED), Ärztlicher Dienst
Kladower Damm 299, 14089 Berlin

Dr. med. T. Junghanns
Schweizerisches Tropeninstitut
Socinstraße 57, CH-4002 Basel

Professor Dr. med. V. Klauß
Augenklinik der Universität München
Mathildenstraße 8, 80336 München

Dr. jur. B. Koch
Berufsgenossenschaft der Chemischen Industrie
Stolberger Straße 86, 50933 Köln

Dr. Bernd Köhler
Missionsärztliche Klinik
Salvatorstraße 7, 97074 Würzburg

Privatdozent Dr. med. R. Korte
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ)
Dag-Hammarskjöld-Weg 1, 65760 Eschborn

Dr. med. H. Kretschmer
Tropenklinik, Paul-Lechler-Krankenhaus
Paul-Lechler-Straße 24, 72076 Tübingen

Dr. med. G. von Laer
Auswärtiges Amt/Gesundheitsdienst
Tempelstraße 17, 53113 Bonn

Professor Dr. med. R. Laufs
Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie der
Universität Hamburg, Martinistraße 52, 20251 Hamburg

Dr. J. van Lunzen
Universitätsklinik Eppendorf
Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg

Dr. U.-M. Mattner
Frauenklinik Finkenau
Finkenau 35, 22339 Hamburg

Professor Dr. W. Meigel
Abteilung Dermatologie, Allgemeines Krankenhaus St. Georg
Lohmühlenstraße 5, 20099 Hamburg

Dr. A. Plettenberg
Abteilung Dermatologie, Allgemeines Krankenhaus St. Georg
Lohmühlenstraße 5, 20099 Hamburg

Dr. med. J. Richter
Institut für Tropenmedizin

Engeldamm 62-64, 10179 Berlin

Frau Dr. Rüsch-Gerdes
Forschungszentrum Borstel
Parkallee 1-40, 23845 Borstel

Professor Dr. Erich Schmutzhard
Neurologische Intensivstation, Universitätsklinik
für Neurologie, Anichstraße 35, A-6020 Innsbruck

Professor Dr. R. Schwarz
Institut für Geographie
Bundesstraße 55, 20146 Hamburg

Dr. Stark
Institut für Tropenmedizin
Spandauer Damm 130, 14050 Berlin

Dr. G. Strote
Schitag Ernst & Young Unternehmensberatung
70476 Stuttgart

Dr. med. Klara Tenner-Racz
Hämatologische Abt., Allgemeines Krankenhaus St. Georg
Lohmühlenstraße 5, 20099 Hamburg

Dr. med. K.-J. Volkmer
Klecker Weg 5, 21244 Buchholz

Professor Dr. O. Wassermann
Universität Kiel, Medizinische Fakultät
Brunswiker Straße 10, 24105 Kiel