Interview with Dr. Camilla Rothe, author of Clinical Cases in Tropical Medicine, 2^nd Edition

Why did you feel that it was important to write Clinical Cases in Tropical Medicine, 2nd Edition and what does it add to the field? 

When I did my diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (DTM&H) at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in 2005, one of my favorite resource for studying clinical tropical medicine was a worn out copy of AD Harries’ book “100 Cases in Tropical Medicine”. The book was out of print and in some aspects outdated, but I loved it, and so did my fellow students. 

I then wrote to the author to ask if they intended to make a further edition of the book. Alas, they did not. I then decided to one day write a similar book myself to make this wonderful format available for generations of doctors to come. AD Harries, the editor of the book I mentioned, became, proudly, one of the authors of our new book. 

The benefit of learning with cases is  – if I may compare it to learning an new language – you learn to actually practice the language of tropical medicine. 

The format of “clinical cases” confronts readers directly with a suffering patient. Since it is every doctor’s pride to help their patients as best as the can, this format gets readers immediately intellectually and emotionally involved, which is crucial for an effective learning process.

The case presentation is followed by two questions that will get readers to think and test their knowledge. Readers will also learn what really happened to “their” patient – which is sometimes far from the gold standard but represents the reality in many undersourced settings. 

At the end of each text, there is a brief “summary box” that highlight important points about the condition discussed. 

 “Clinical Cases in Tropical Medicine” however goes far beyond merely discussing tropical diseases. It confronts the reader with the realities working in a resource limited setting, i.e. the need for pragmatic decision-making and economic realities far away from what we are used to in well- resourced countries. 

What is the most exciting aspect of Clinical Cases in Tropical Medicine, 2nd Edition? What chapter or topic covered in the new edition are you most excited about? 

The book contains more than 100 clinical cases, amongst them more than 30 new cases compared to the 1st edition of this book. Important gaps we had in the first edition have now been closed, as we have managed to get further authors on board, who are experts in their field: we now have clinical cases on leprosy, African trypanosomiasis, yellow fever, rabies, chagas and yaws, to name just a few. Diseases emerging since the first edition, such as Zika, have been included. 

Who will find the greatest value Clinical Cases in Tropical Medicine, 2nd Edition?

The book addresses several different groups of readers that may benefit in particular from this format: 

Doctors, and even medical students who wish to prepare for a stay in the tropics. The book will confront readers not only with the spectrum of disease in different parts of the world – Africa, Asia, Latin America and even tropical Australia – but also with information about the social and economic circumstances their virtual patients live in, and the diagnostic and therapeutic constraints one may face working in a resource limited setting. The latter require at times a very pragmatic clinical approach physicians from the “global North” may not be acquainted with. 

However, the book is not only meant for people intending to work in the tropics. More and more general practitioners are confronted with tropical diseases seeing returned travelers and migrant patients. 

Travel medicine practitioners may find the book useful to prepare travelers for a stay in the tropics and to understand diseases in returning travelers.

The book will also be useful for students seeking for an effective and equally joyful way to prepare for an exam, e.g. for the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 

What new ideas, practices, or procedures do you hope your readers take away from your text? 

“Clinical Cases in Tropical Medicine” seeks not to merely to teach facts about tropical diseases. It will invite the reader to get into the shoes of a physician working under diagnostically and economically limited circumstances. It will get the reader as close to really working in the tropics as possible. 

What problem do you hope the future generation of tropical medicine specialists will be able to solve? 

We live in a world of extreme global mobility: travelers are speeding around the globe (and so are bugs, as we currently see….) – migrants from at times very poor rural areas are seeking for greener pastures in the global North. Even general practitioners will more and more get confronted with tropical diseases and conditions related to poverty, eg malnutrition. Future generations of tropical medicine specialists will have to take care of a growing number of patients and disseminate their knowledge to help colleagues from other specialties to keep up with this.  

Is there anything else about the book you’d like to say? 

ENJOY IT! 

Get your copy of Clinical Cases in Tropical Medicine, 2nd Edition here!

About Dr. Camilla Rothe

My name is Dr. Camilla Rothe. I am a physician specialized in tropical medicine. I currently work as a consultant in Tropical Medicine at the Tropical Institute in Munich, Germany. I am in charge of the clinical department, where we see migrants and returning travelers with tropical diseases. I am also in charge of the large travel clinic providing pre-travel advice and vaccinations.  

We are part of the Ludwig-Maximillians University in Munich. As an academic institution, teaching and training is also very important for us. I lecture on various tropical medicine courses all over the world, e.g. in Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, as well as in Vellore/India, and for the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in Kampala/Uganda and in Nagasaki/Japan.  

During my training in Tropical Medicine, I spent four years working in Malawi.  

Back in Germany, tropical medicine keeps on confronting me with new situations. During the past five years, we have seen a rise in numbers in migrants from tropical countries. I find myself confronted with tropical diseases I never expected to see outside very rural tropical settings; at times diseases of poverty that are not found in eg returning travelers. We need to be prepared for this!  

I was also part of the team looking after Germany’s first Ebola patient which was very exciting.  

This year, we diagnosed the first Covid-19 case in our country. It was special, since we were able to show that there was asymptomatic transmission which nobody believed, back in January 2020. After being attacked for publishing this unpleasant fact in the NEJM, I have now been included into the TIME100 list of “most influential people 2020”. The world of tropical and emerging diseases will never get boring.