History of Latin American Dermatology

Historical outline of Dermatology in CubaIn the same year, the first case of AIDS appeared in Cuba. It should be pointed outthat, already in 1983, the Public Health Ministry, aware of the magnitude of the pandemic,had created the National Commission charged with drawing up a program toavoid the spread of the disease in the country.In 1988 a new program was instituted for the control of leprosy in Cuba, which institutedthe standardized polychemotherapy treatment recommended by WHO against itsprevalence and incidence.The Third National Congress of Dermatology was held in the province of Camagüeyin 1988, with Drs. Amado Saúl, Roberto Arenas, Lourdes Tamayo and Juan ManuelGaribay present as guest professors.In September 1989, the Conventions Palace in Havana was the venue of the SeventhLatin American Congress against sexually-transmitted diseases, an event of major importancethat made scientific exchanges possible among Cubans and participants fromother latitudes.At the end of the 1980s the country exhibited social and economic stability, dermatologicalcoverage continued and an increase was taking place in the number of graduatespecialists in Dermatology, trained in all of the country’s provinces. The programsagainst leprosy and sexually-transmitted diseases were unfolding successfully.As of 1990, in the international sphere, the crisis in the socialist camp worsened untilthe point of its disappearance was reached, which entailed a serious blow for our countryowing to the grave consequences it generated in all sectors and branches of the economyand particularly in health and education; all of this was heightened by the tightening of theblockade imposed on Cuba by the United States government for more than four decades.In the first years of this period of economic crisis Dermatology was, like other specializedfields, affected mainly as regards medical drugs and equipment; nevertheless,medical treatment of the population was maintained at the level reached in previousyears, as was the development of the plans for the training of physicians and specialistsat all of the country’s Medical Schools.The Cuban Society of Dermatology already had branches in all provinces. In this newstage, scientific activities were organized on the basis of regions, and provinces weregrouped into western, central and eastern sections, rotating the venues for holdingevents.During the year 1990 there were advancements in teaching categories and scientificdegrees were obtained by our dermatologists; among them, the degree of doctor in MedicalSciences was attained by Dr. Damisela López Osorio, Prof. Ramón Daniel Simón andProf. Myra Guerra Castro.The Course on Management and Epidemiology of the Control of STDs was held in thecity of Havana on October 19 through November 7, 1991, its aim being to train and updatedermatologists and epidemiologists in the basic elements — administrative and epidemiological— for drawing up and improving a program for the control of STDs.In 1993, as a result of the development of the Leprosy Control Program based on theapplication of polychemotherapy, the country presented levels lower than the figure of 1per 10,000 inhabitants.In the second semester of 1993, undergraduate teaching of Dermatology waslaunched at the Luis Díaz Soto Clinical Surgical Hospital in La Habana del Este for studentsof the Military Medicine study course; Prof. Santiago Alfonso was appointed headof the Service.On January 31, 1994, the Public Health Ministry’s Teaching Board published the newrules for the Dermatology Residency.On July 7, 1995, the First Internal Session on Dermatology of the Calixto GarcíaHospital and Ninth Provincial Session on Dermatology were held in commemoration ofthe centennial of the hospital’s founding, sponsored by Prof. Díaz Almeida and Prof.159