The human dimension of AIDS in Cuba: Jorge Perez MD MS, Director, Pedro Kouri Tropical Medicine Institute. Interviewed by Gail Reed.
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Except for the people living with the disease, no others have so immersed themselves in Cuba's world of HIV/AIDS as Dr Jorge Perez. It is a world of Cuban returnees from Angola's war against apartheid South Africa, gay and bisexual men, housewives, transactional sex workers, rebellious teenagers, and infected surgeons and scientists-a cultural kaleidoscope reflecting all the faces of AIDS. To more than one international author, he is simply "Cuba's AIDS doctor." Speaking to his patients at the Pedro Kouri Tropical Medicine Institute in Havana, it is easy to see why, but also to appreciate the courage, compassion, and persistent search for new knowledge that characterize the Institute's staff as a whole. Dr Perez's story-now told in two books based on his diaries-is not his alone. MEDICC Review held two interview sessions with Jorge Perez just days apart at the beginning of April: one before and one after his designation as the new Director of the Tropical Medicine Institute, where he previously served as Deputy Director and Chief of Hospital Services. More than strictly medical matters, the conversation turned to the human dimension of HIV/AIDS, the depth to which it has touched many directly and affected Cuban society as a whole, and the challenges ahead for Cuba's flagship institution for research and treatment of infectious diseases. (+info)