World is Flat: Globalization of Tropical Disease

I agree with Thomas Friedman that the “The world is flat!!” What were once viewed as exotic diseases isolated to distant parts of the world are now becoming more prevalent in the Western world in this era of globalization. Unfortunately, I have actually had direct experience with this phenomenon. I spent a portion of my fourth year medical school electives studying tropical diseases at the School of Tropical Medicine in Calcutta, India. Two weeks after returning to Washington, DC, I had migratory nighttime fevers associated with severe headaches. I was eventually admitted to the hospital and the differential diagnosis was Leishmaniasis, Dengue fever, or typhoid fever. Well, it turns out that I had Salmonella parathyphic , which I caught from eating contaminated ice cream at a cricket match and not from any exposure during my clerkship. It was also the first time this disease had been diagnosed at Fairfax Hospital. Isn’t it great to be the first at something?!!

We have made a concerted effort to “globalize” Neuroimaging Clinics and have formally changed the name from Neuroimaging Clinics of North America to Neuroimaging Clinics . This reflects the “flattening” of our scientific community and recognizing talented individuals who have made extraordinary scientific contributions that may not have received appropriate recognition. An excellent example of this is the editor of this issue, Rakesh Gupta, MD. I have known of Dr Gupta’s work for over 20 years. He has made extraordinary contributions in the imaging of tropical disorders by developing and applying advanced imaging techniques in diseases such as tuberculosis and cysticercosis that are prevalent in Southeast Asia and developing countries. He has tremendous experience and the quality of his scientific work is superb.

Dr Gupta has assembled an excellent group of collaborators who are very experienced in their selected areas. I am sure you will find this collection of these unique articles very informative. When I was a resident, one of my attending physicians (Harry Mellins, MD) would always say “You only see what you look for and you only diagnose what you know!” The information contained in this edition of Neuroimaging Clinics will both improve our “vision” and broaden our knowledge.

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