The drinking of 'bush teas' has been a long standing part of Jamaica's cultural heritage. Often consumed for 'medicinal' purposes, these teas have proven largely harmless, except for one 'tea' which caused liver damage, particularly in children. This prompted the UWI's Departments of Paediatrics and Pathology to investigate this unique disease.

In the early years of the University Hospital, it was noted that a number of children were admitted to the paediatric wards with abdominal swelling due to the accumulation of fluid and the enlargement of the liver and spleen. The disease behaved differently among those affected. Some would get better without medication, others would die from liver failure and the remainder would show persistent damage to the liver leading to cirrhosis of the liver. As the signs pointed to a damaged liver, this organ became the target for investigation by UWI researchers.

UWI doctors discover new disease

Professors Jeliffe (paediatrics) and Stuart (medicine), based on their review of detailed clinical histories, recognised that common to all the patients suffering from this disease was the consumption of 'bush tea'. Professor Bras (pathology) examined the liver biopsies which showed damage to the blood vessels within the liver with obstruction of the outflow of blood. Putting all the findings together, the team was able to explain how the disease was caused. This was a new disease to medical science and was given the name veno-occlusive disease (VOD) of the liver.

Simultaneous with these studies, pharmacologic analysis of the tea revealed the presence of a toxic substance in a common plant in Jamaica, crotolaria fulva known locally as 'white back'.

Following a successful public education campaign, with respect to the dangers of the consumption of this particular bush tea, there was a dramatic fall in the number of cases admitted to hospital in the 1960s and by the following decade, it was rare to see a single case in the paediatric wards.

International recognition

The recognition of veno-occlusive disease of the liver was one of the earliest contributions of the Faculty of Medicine in the 1950s to the world literature in medicine. It was fundamental in bringing international recognition to the University and established a pattern of research that is still being maintained.

The World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization (WHO/PAHO) and the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), in collaboration with UWI's Clinical Epidemiology Unit, will host a four-day training workshop in project management for 12 researchers and research administrators from November 3-6. The theme of the workshop is 'Planning for Success'.

The WHO/TDR Initiative, 'Planning for Success' was established in 2003 to support skill-building for project management in health research in developing countries. As part of the initial phase, WHO/TDR has developed and tested a training programme which includes two main components a skill-building course for effective project planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and a train-the-trainer course to ensure availability of local trainers.

Project development plans

The workshop will enable researchers to clearly define projects, complete realistic project development plans, identify and support the expertise and responsibilities of team members as well as to create a communication plan to ensure successful collaborations. According to the organisers, the objective is to increase the researchers' competitiveness for funding, facilitate successful implementation and monitoring of projects as well as to enable regular monitoring and accurate reporting at the end of the project period.