RESEARCH ACTIVITY AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

The three-year programme 2018-2020 of IRCCS Ospedale Sacro Cuore Don Calabria, approved by the Italian Ministry of Health, includes three main research lines:

  • Malaria and other vector-borne infections
  • Strongyloidosis
  • Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD)

An extension framework of research first line has been defined after an update of 2020 programme: Malaria and other infectious diseases connected to human mobility. The underlying logic is to open new research fronts on not tropical themes, but always remembering the historic strong points that typify the Sacro Cuore Hospital.

The purpose is to develop emerging themes at a global level, such as the increasing spread of “superbacteria” and antibiotic resistance, having as first observation point, although not exclusive, the people who go to Sacro Cuore Hospital: travelers, Italian workers abroad, missionaries, migrants. Further to classic tropical diseases, as malaria and arbovirosis, other themes connected to human mobility can full enter into the programme, such as: bacterial infections antibiotic-resistance in travelers, expatriated, migrants and local population; the Sexually-transmitted Disease (STD) in travelers and migrants; tuberculosis and human mobility.

In this perspective extension it should also be remembered that since 2019 the Director of Infectious and Tropical Diseases and Microbiology Department (Professor Zeno Bisoffi) is the coordinator of the biggest European Network for Imported Infectious and Tropical Diseases TROPNET, a platform for important collaborative multicentre studies (website www.tropnet.eu , Twitter profile https://twitter.com/TropNet_). The Department is also full member of GEOSENTINEL, world network of travelers infectious diseases and WHO Collaborating Center for the strongyloidosis and other intestinal parasitosis.