NDSU Student Health Service is set to present an important educational presentation for health professionals about leprosy.
Dr. Barbara Stryjewska, medical officer of the National Hansen’s Disease Clinical Center in Louisiana, is scheduled to present “Grand Rounds: Leprosy is Neither Eliminated Nor Simple” Monday, April 24, at noon in the Harry D. McGovern Alumni Center, 1241 N. University Drive. The presentation is free. Lunch will be provided for the on-site attendees but the event will also be available via teleconference and video conference.
Organizers say many people believe that Hansen’s Disease or leprosy has been eradicated in the United States, but there are still about 6,500 cases in the country.
“Leprosy is not just a disease of the past,” said Paul Carson, professor of practice in the Master of Public Health program. “In fact, we have seen recent cases in both North Dakota and Minnesota. The local community is very fortunate to have Dr. Barbara Stryjewska presenting on the current epidemiology of leprosy and the best practices for disease management. Please come to learn about this historically significant, and still present, infectious disease.”
Participants will learn about:
• Services provided to patients through the National Hansen’s Disease Programs
• Cardinal signs and the criteria for a presumptive diagnosis as well as current U.S. treatment protocols for leprosy.
• The unique features of leprosy; symptoms, diagnosis and management of immunological complications (lepra reactions).
Stryjewska earned her medical doctorate from the Jagiellonian University School of Medicine in Krakow, Poland. After completing her residency in radiation oncology, she served as an attending physician on the oncology service at the Centre of Oncology at the Curie Memorial Institute in Krakow until her immigration to the United States in 1988. She retrained in family medicine at St. Joseph's Medical Center, Yonkers, New York, and served as a primary care provider in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, until 2002, when she became medical officer for the National Hansen’s Disease Clinical Center, the only facility in the United States solely devoted to the treatment of leprosy.
Register early as the on-site portion of the event is limited to 140 people.
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