CARA: a breath of fresh air

ABSTRACT

Few conditions are of more concern in the Caribbean today than asthma. This much was clear from the large turn-out and enthusiastic response to a meeting organised in Port-of-Spain by the Caribbean Allergy & Respiratory Association (CARA). The meeting took place immediately before the annual scientific gathering of the Caribbean Health Research Council. The meeting also heard feature lectures on allergic rhinitis in Jamaica, new techniques under development for the assessment of inflammation, and patient education. The importance of the latter was indeed a recurring theme throughout the discussions. There were also presentations of recent Caribbean asthma research, which included accounts of experience in paediatric asthma clinics in Tobago and Jamaica. Results were presented from a study seeking to determine whether there were seasonal peaks in the incidence of asthma attacks in Trinidad. Rises in temperature, humidity, and wind speed all seem to be able to increase the number of attacks. Prior to the main CARA meeting there had been a mini-symposium on asthma in Tobago, and a public meeting at the Eric Williams Medical Complex in Trinidad. The three-day event was popular with those who attended and was a fine example of continuing medical education in action (AU)