Our Hero: Dr. Madama Bouaré
Dr. Madama Bouaré worked at the Malaria Research and Training Center in Bamako, Mali contributing to projects that are aimed at preventing the spread of mosquito transmitted diseases such as malaria and dengue. He was the director of three Biosafety and Biosecurity courses sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO). Dr. Bouaré went above and beyond the call of duty to help others. He passed away recently in a car accident. He will be missed. He was an inspiration to all of us.
Our Hero: Dr. A. M. Manonmani
Dr. A.M. Manonmani received her PhD (highly commended) from the University of Madras in 1990. She has dedicated her life to fighting infectious diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. In 1997 she received a fellowship from the World Health Organization (WHO) to attend the School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, London and received training on molecular entomology. Her most important achievements have been the development of techniques for survey of microbial pathogens of mosquitoes, procedures of isolation, identification, mass production, formulation and field testing of bacterial biocontrol. A couple of strains from bacteria used as larvicides have received star ranking by the Pasteur Institute in Paris. She holds several patents on larvicidal agents and the production technology of one of this agent has been licensed to 8 commercial firms in India. She has also developed the first ever reported mosquito pupicidal bacteria isolated from mangrove swamps and has been involved in the development of probes and PCR assays for identification of Anopheles fluviatilis, An. culicifacies and Phlebotomus sp., major vectors of malaria and leishmaniasis in India. Dr. Manonmani holds more than 30 publications in this field.
Our Hero: Dr. Daniel Echeverri
He works for Hospital Universitario del Valle (HUV) in Cali, Colombia as a medical surveillance doctor for tropical diseases, as well as a staff member of the AEDES Project. His career is focused on medical and field surveillance of patients presenting severe manifestations of Dengue and other tropical diseases by means of providing control entities with assistance concerning contingency and outbreak policies. He trains medical staff along with community members on Dengue management and prevention. On the other hand, he is a lecturer for undergraduate students in internal medicine, medicine in physiopathology, Dengue management, Leishmaniasis, AH1N1, and Malaria. Dr. Echeverri is highly motivated and determined to make a difference in the field of tropical diseases. His motivation, determination and enthusiasm to contribute solutions to tropical diseases have gained our admiration and respect.
