Neonatal tetanus (NT), a severe newborn illness from the toxigenic strains of Clostridium tetani, persists in middle- and low-income countries due to non-sterile childbirth practices. Unlike smallpox and polio, tetanus cannot be eradicated: Clostridium tetani spores exist in the environment, and ani...mal reservoirs. However, elimination as a public health issue is achievable through widespread tetanus vaccination, clean deliveries, and proper umbilical cord care. The goal of eliminating maternal and neonatal tetanus (MNT) as a public health problem is considered met when all municipalities in a country have an annual incidence rate of NT of less than 1 case per 1000 live births. The Region of the Americas achieved the maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination (MNTE) target in 2017 when elimination was validated in the Republic of Haiti. Yet maintaining this progress requires continued efforts. High vaccination coverage, booster doses in countries lacking them, hygienic practices, and strong maternal and child health services are key. The Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) integrated maternal and neonatal immunization platform further strengthens this fight against early childhood diseases.
more
Most shelters in the Caribbean are community centers, schools, or churches that are limited in size. The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) distancing requirements subsequently reduced the number of persons a shelter can accommodate during the hurricane season. This document reinforces some measur...es to follow per international emergency shelter protocols factoring in conditions for spacing between beds/cots, recreation areas and ventilation according to The Sphere Handbook, FEMA, and Australian Red Cross. Physical distancing and hygienic standards were modified highlighting that ideal requirements are not always feasible; therefore, we may choose realistic recommendations for practical purposes and suspected cases of COVID-19.
more
El informe Indicadores básicos 2019: tendencias de la salud en las Américas comienza con un panorama demográfico de la Región que muestra los cambios que han ocurrido a lo largo de los últimos 25 años. Estos indicadores demográficos proporcionan un contexto útil para comprender mejor las car...acterísticas de la población y el efecto que tienen en la salud. Los gráficos están acompañados de breves descripciones en las que se destaca la información más importante.
more
Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease (CRD) worldwide and is estimated to affect 262 million causing significant mortality and morbidity, and has emerged as an important public health problem in many Latin American (LA) countries over the last 30 or so years. LA is a highly diverse r...egion in terms of geography, climate, wealth, and ethnicity including 20 different countries with 639 million inhabitants, where 40 million are estimated to have asthma. A common feature of LA countries is the high level of social inequalities3 (Figure 1). In LA, asthma prevalence in both children and adults is highly variable and, where high, is among the highest worldwide, particularly in coastal tropical cities.
more
Esta publicación integra la experiencia acumulada de la OPS y las buenas prácticas desarrolladas por sus Estados Miembros en los últimos años, incluidas las discusiones y experiencias compartidas en las reuniones regionales celebradas sobre el tema, y pone el acento en la innovación y la inclus...ión social. Esto requiere cambiar con urgencia los paradigmas tradicionales, partiendo de las acciones específicas que reducen gradualmente la incidencia de la TB para dirigirnos hacia acciones multisectoriales de eficacia demostrada en la contención rápida de la epidemia.
more
Histoplasmosis is a disease caused by the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. This disease is highly endemic in some regions of North America, Central America, and South America and is also reported in certain countries of Asia and Africa. It often affects people with impaired immunity, including people ...living with HIV, among whom the most frequent clinical presentation is disseminated histoplasmosis. The symptoms of disseminated histoplasmosis are non-specific and may be indistinguishable from those of other infectious diseases, especially disseminated tuberculosis (TB), thus complicating diagnosis and treatment. Histoplasmosis is one of the most frequent opportunistic infections caused by fungal pathogens among people living with HIV in the Americas and may be responsible for 5–15% of AIDS-related deaths every year in this Region. These guidelines aim to provide recommendations for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of disseminated histoplasmosis in persons living with HIV
more
Want to build a tippy tap? Want to teach someone else how to? Here is a graphical manual that works for both literate and illiterate populations. Spanish version
Accessed 13 January 2015
Epidemiology, Control, and Financing
6a edición clínica. Nuevo: 4. Vacunas (26 de abril); Nuevo: 5. Pruebas y procedimientos de diagnóstico (7 de abril); Nuevo: 7. COVID-19 persistente (7 de abril)
Guía para personal de Primera Línea de Respuesta a la COVID-19.
Esta Guía básica de habilidades psicosociales es un proyecto del Grupo de Referencia
del Comité Permanente entre Organismos sobre Salud Mental y Apoyo Psicosocial en
situaciones de emergencia (IASC MHPSS RG). El proyecto fue apo...yado por las agencias
miembros del IASC MHPSS RG, con amplias aportaciones de los sobrevivientes de
COVID-19 y el personal de primera línea de respuesta contra la COVID-19.
more
The new global scenario in times of COVID-19 makes it necessary to take urgent measures and assess the impacts they will have. ECLAC has built this Observatory to support review and follow-up over the medium and long terms and at the request of CELAC. The Observatory tracks the public policies that ...the 33 countries of the Latin America and Caribbean region are implementing to limit the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and offers analyses of the economic and social impacts that these policies will have at the national and sectoral levels.
more
La OPS, dentro de su empeño constante por apoyar a los países de las Américas, publica el presente documento con ánimo de facilitar la elaboración de una estrategia de comunicación de riesgos y participación comunitaria para la vacunación contra la COVID-19. Su finalidad es contribuir a fort...alecer las capacidades y la planificación de la comunicación de los ministerios o secretarías de salud, así como de otros organismos encargados de comunicar en el área de las nuevas vacunas contra la COVID-19 en las Américas.
Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese
more
The objective of Health in the Americas: Overview of the Region of the Americas in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic is to respond to the need to address important public health issues in an increasingly timely manner, while serving as a platform with a close focus on specific issues of regional ...importance. This 2022 edition is the second in its new format, providing an overview of the analysis, as well as an in-depth description of the key issues related to COVID-19 in the Region of the Americas. This overview is supported by the Health in the Americas+ virtual platform, which offers interactive resources for data analysis and allows for the comparison of information disaggregated by subregions and countries.
more
April 2022 Volume 35 Issue 2 e00152-21
Population movements have turned Chagas disease (CD) into a global public health problem. Despite the successful implementation of subregional initiatives to control vectorial and transfusional Trypanosoma cruzi transmission in Latin American settings where t...he disease is endemic, congenital CD (cCD) remains a significant challenge. In countries where the disease is not endemic, vertical transmission plays a key role in CD expansion and is the main focus of its control. Although several health organizations provide general protocols for cCD control, its management in each geopolitical region depends on local authorities, which has resulted in a multitude of approaches. The aims of this review are to (i) describe the current global situation in CD management, with emphasis on congenital infection, and (ii) summarize the spectrum of available strategies, both official and unofficial, for cCD prevention and control in countries of endemicity and nonendemicity. From an economic point of view, the early detection and treatment of cCD are cost-effective. However, in countries where the disease is not endemic, national health policies for cCD control are nonexistent, and official regional protocols are scarce and restricted to Europe. Countries of endemicity have more protocols in place, but the implementation of diagnostic methods is hampered by economic constraints. Moreover, most protocols in both countries where the disease is endemic and those where it is not endemic have yet to incorporate recently developed technologies. The wide methodological diversity in cCD diagnostic algorithms reflects the lack of a consensus. This review may represent a first step toward the development of a common strategy, which will require the collaboration of health organizations, governments, and experts in the field.
more
Chagas disease affects approximately 6 million people, mainly in Latin America. Less than 1% of affected individuals receive proper antiparasitic treatment, and current drugs are inadequate to fight the entire spectrum of the disease. Against this background, Novartis is pursuing an end-to-end appro...ach, with activity on three fronts: drug discovery, clinical research and health system strengthening.
more