After a designated date, UNMC personnel may continue to enroll, if the course is not filled, but applications will also be accepted from non-UNMC personnel. Participants who are not taking the course for credit may elect to waive the volunteer experience and take Spanish classes full-time, five days a week. However, they will be expected to participate in the other group activities, e.g., lectures and field trips. Johns Hopkins School of Public Health is currently conducting a Traveler's Diarrhea Vaccine Study, with field offices located in Antigua, Guatemala and Cuernavaca, Mexico. Travelers staying for two weeks or more in either of these destinations may be eligible to participate in the JH study.
Participants keep a diary of their diet and take either the actual vaccine or the placebo.
Upon arrival in Antigua, participants report to the JH office and provide blood and stool samples. Last summer about one-half of our students took part in the study and felt that the stipend was well worth their effort. The schedule for this program is fairly structured, with minimal downtime. In addition to the three field trips that are part of this program, the Spanish school also offers periodic short educational excursions on an optional basis. There is a nominal charge for participants.