“The Amazon region has a heavy skin disease burden,” Roman said. “The prevalence of diseases that are rare in the United States makes this an incredible learning experience, and the ability to identify and remove cancers from patients in remote communities allows me to provide significant value to our Brazilian partners.”
The Brazilian Riverine Mission is a joint effort between Commander, U.S. Fourth Fleet and the Brazilian Navy’s Ninth Naval District, whose mission is to provide care to local populations, build medical interoperability in support of joint humanitarian and disaster relief missions, and exchange medical knowledge. This is the third mission of its type and is serving as a platform to expand the U.S. Navy’s tropical medicine training opportunities, which will ultimately combine training at the Tropical Medicine Institute in Manaus followed by a joint medical mission within the Amazon River basin.