Perspectives Spring 2015

PERSPECTIVES • SPRING 2015 42 SU is helping to change the future of a country through the reestablish- ment of a lymphatic fi- lariasis clinic in Leogane, Haiti. Dr. Heather Hettrick, an associ- ate professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, is the pro- gram director responsible for the operations and management of the clinic. Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a parasitic infection spread by mos- quitoes that is endemic in 83 countries, with over 1.3 billion people at risk of contracting it. In the Western hemisphere, LF is endemic in seven countries. Eighty-eight percent of Haiti is a risk zone for LF, and Leogane is the LF risk center in Haiti with a population of 250,000. At the start of control efforts in 2000, there was a 99 percent rate of ex- posure and greater than an 80 percent rate of infection. The University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, has had a functioning LF initiative in Leogane at Hospital St. Croix since 1997. The original clinic was funded by multiple sources, including the Gates Foundation, and LF patients from 10 regions in Haiti and 4 other neighboring countries were treated. Until 2009, the clinical program was available for genital and extremity LF; however, the clinic closed that year due to loss of funding, loss of trained clinical LF therapists, and an absence of international lym- phatic and academic awareness or support. By collaborating with the Uni- versity of Notre Dame, the Inter- national Lymphedema and Wound Care Training Institute, the World Health Organization, the World Alliance for Wound and Lymphedema Care, medi for help, and others, NSU and its partners hope that the reestab- lished clinic will be a unique Center of Excellence for the study and treatment of a seriously neg- lected tropical disease. It is intended that the clinical and research work documented in Haiti over the next several years N LYMPHATIC FILARIASIS INITIATIVE IN HAITI: By Heather Hettrick, Ph.D., PT, Associate Professor Shaping the Future of a Country Dr. Hettrick with a lymphatic filariasis patient. PT Fort Lauderdale