Funded Programs

Global Health without Travel

The United States is experiencing the influx of increasing numbers of immigrants, many of whom are refugees from areas that are endemic to neglected tropical infectious diseases. At this time, we do not know how to best treat patients with these diseases and or understand the potential public health impact that they may have on the U.S. population.

The purpose of this Emory University program is to define the epidemiology and treatment of neglected tropical diseases among refugees and immigrants living in the State of Georgia. Specifically, this project will:

• Develop a surveillance system and database of infectious diseases among immigrant and refugees seen within the Emory Healthcare System;
• Develop specific screening programs to identify persistent parasitic tropical infections including leprosy, Chahas disease, schistosomiasis, and strongyloidiasis; and
• Begin translational research activities in collaboration with the Emory Vaccine Center in two key areas that need further exploration: latency of Trypanosoma cruzi infection and immunology of leprosy reactions.

To learn more about the health care issues that immigrant and refugee communities face, please view the powerful documentary, If We Knew Their Stories, which features Dr. Franco-Paredes.

For more information, contact:
Carlos Franco-Paredes, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine
Assistant Professor of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health
cfranco@emory.edu