Marcus Zervos, M.D., assistant dean of Global Affairs for the Wayne State University School of Medicine, along with Jelena Verkler, M.P.H., administrative director for the Office of Global Affairs, recently visited Jordan for a global health collaboration with the King Hussein Cancer Center.

Dr. Zervos was invited to present a grand rounds lecture on “Global Health Challenges: One World, One Fight, One Health.”

An infectious disease symposium was held at the center with presenters Anita Shallal, M.D., and Joud Jarrah, M.D., speaking on infection control in immunocompromised patients, while infectious disease specialists from the center offered their expertise.

Stemming from the partnership with the cancer center, Dr. Zervos and Verkler utilized resources to arrange  meetings with the Ministry of Health, the University of Jordan medical school, the regional World Health Organization Office and Yarmouk medical school. The meetings focused on developing an antimicrobial stewardship plan to address the issue of antimicrobial resistance in Jordan by employing support from the Ministry of Health and the regional WHO office.

Meetings with officials at the University of Jordan spawned discussions on the implementation of an infectious disease fellowship in Jordan, and bidirectional training in epidemiology and public health at Wayne State University. There is no infectious disease fellowship program and only four infectious disease specialists for the entire country.