From July 6 to 20, Professor I. Kopyta visited the Pediatric Neurology Department at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka, Zambia.
The pediatric neurology training program at UTH is supervised by Harvard University in Boston, USA. Dr. Archana Patel, a professor of neurology, represents Harvard University and reached out to the Global Regional Initiative Program (GRIP), a collaborative project between GRIP and the International Pediatric Neurology Association (ICNA), in cooperation with major international pediatric neurology societies worldwide. „My participation in the project as a visiting professor was arranged between the aforementioned institutions and the Board of the European Pediatric Neurology Society (EPNS), where I serve as a board member,” said Professor Kopyta. She added, „Currently, there is one pediatric neurologist actively working in Zambia, Dr. Nfwana Kawatu, and another trainee in pediatric neurology, Dr. Debby Tembo, whom I mentor. The work of pediatric neurologists at UTH is divided between clinics and wards. Clinics operate three days a week, primarily seeing children with epilepsy and developmental disorders. Work on the wards of this large hospital (with a total of 370 beds) involves consulting patients with acute conditions such as meningitis, seizures, and acute vascular diseases.
It is noteworthy that in Zambia, neuroinfections often have a tuberculosis etiology and typically affect children infected with HIV. Children with neurocysticercosis (NCC) frequently experience symptomatic seizures. In the hematology ward, children with sickle cell disease (SCD) are predominant, with hospitalizations often due to acute central nervous system symptoms in the course of strokes; SCD is one of the most common causes of stroke in children in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In some countries in the region, newborn screening is conducted,” Professor Kopyta emphasized.
During her visit (on July 13), a scientific conference of the Zambian Neurological Society took place. Among the speakers were Dr. Deanna Saylor from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA, who conducts research at UTH. A separate session was dedicated to pediatric neurology, where Dr. Kawatu provided an introduction to the topic. Professor Kopyta’s mentee, Dr. Tembo, presented a report on stroke in children with SCD admitted to UTH, which was recognized and awarded.
