The Institute of Tropical Medicine was founded in 1937, annexed to the School of Medicine of the University of Havana. The work developed by its founder, Professor Pedro Kourí, within the field of parasitological research made it possible for this institute to achieve deserved prestige among parasitologists and other specialists dedicated to Tropical Medicine throughout the world. Among the contributions made at that time, the first descriptions of cases of human fascioliasis and an original method for its diagnosis, as well as its successful treatment with emetine, can be noted.
