From March 20 to 27, 2025, we hosted a pediatric infectious diseases student from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York for an academic tour in tropical diseases, combining theoretical learning with practical activities in rural communities and specialized centers. We visited the community of Coclesito, 5 hours from Panama City, where patients with chronic dermatological lesions of infectious origin were evaluated together with Dr. Pachar and offered therapeutic and preventive solutions. The student also visited the infectious diseases services of Santo Tomás Hospital and of the Social Security Fund (Caja del Seguro Social) hospital at Ciudad de la Salud, taking part in evaluation rounds of hospitalized patients with infectious diseases. The student also received theoretical lectures from experts on bats as vectors and reservoirs of disease; on arboviruses, from viral dynamics and vector taxonomy to clinical aspects; as well as on Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, malaria, and tropical dermatology.
