Pan American Health Organization

About: Pan American Health Organization is a healthcare organization based out in Havana, Cuba. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Public health. The organization has 1500 authors who have published 2263 publications receiving 83705 citations. The organization is also known as: HO Regional Office for the Americas.

Cystic echinococcosis in South America: a call for action

Abstract: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) or hydatidosis, a parasitic zoonosis caused by a cestode of the family Taeniidae, species Echinococcus granulosus, is endemic in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, and southern Brazil. This report presents CE figures for these five countries in 2009 - 2014 and proposes indicators to measure national control programs. Nearly 5 000 new CE cases were diagnosed annually in the five countries during the study period. The average case fatality rate was 2.9%, which suggests that CE led to approximately 880 deaths in these countries during the 6-year period. CE cases that required secondary or tertiary health care had average hospital stays of 10.6 days, causing a significant burden to health systems. The proportion of new cases (15%) in children less than 15 years of age suggests ongoing transmission. Despite figures showing that CE is not under control in South America, the long-standing implementation of national and local control programs in three of the five countries has achieved reductions in some of the indicators. The Regional Initiative for the Control of CE, which includes the five countries and provides a framework for networking and collaboration, must intensify its efforts.

The prevalence of diagnosed diabetes among the elderly of seven cities in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Health Wellbeing and Aging (SABE) Project.

Abstract: Objective: To examine the relation of diagnosed diabetes mellitus (DM) to the level of education and body mass index (BMI) among the elderly of seven cities using data from SABE. Methods: The SABE survey was based on a probabilistic sample of the elderly population. Results of various logistic regression models were applied to prevalence rates to adjust for age, gender, and BMI by the covariate method given the variability of these parameters. Results: The prevalence of diagnosed diabetes among the elderly was 15.7% (95% CI 14.7-16.8), with the highest prevalence reported in Bridgetown and the lowest in Buenos Aires. Discussion: There was a high prevalence of diagnosed DM among the elderly of the seven cities. The prevalence of diagnosed DM was strongly associated with BMI and low education. The inclusion of these factors in policies and programs aiming to reduce the prevalence of diabetes among the elderly is recommended.

Uptake of rotavirus vaccine and national trends of acute gastroenteritis among children in Nicaragua.

Abstract: BACKGROUND In October 2006, a new rotavirus vaccine was introduced in Nicaragua and was available free to all age-eligible children We assessed vaccine uptake and trends in acute gastroenteritis (AGE) to assess vaccine impact METHODS We analyzed national data from the period 2001-2007 on the total number of AGE episodes and on RotaTeq vaccine dose administration during 2006-2007 RESULTS After the introduction of RotaTeq, 1-dose vaccine coverage rates rapidly increased to 80% among age-eligible children During the 2007 rotavirus season, when combined 2- and 3-dose vaccine coverage among children aged 0-11 months was approximately 26%, the total number of AGE episodes among children aged 0-11 months decreased by 23%, compared with a decrease of 6% among unvaccinated children aged 12-59 months Furthermore, a 12% decrease in the number of all-cause hospitalizations for AGE was noted among children aged 0-11 months, whereas a approximately 5% increase was observed among children aged 12-59 months CONCLUSIONS The high rate of vaccination among age-eligible children soon after vaccine introduction in Nicaragua indicates an efficient immunization program However, in the age group at risk of rotavirus disease, vaccine coverage during the 2007 rotavirus season had yet to reach a level sufficient for making firm conclusions about vaccine impact Epidemiologic studies to evaluate vaccine effectiveness and ongoing surveillance as vaccine uptake increases will allow a better assessment of vaccine impact

Breastfeeding promotion - is its effectiveness supported by scientific evidence and global changes in breastfeeding behaviors?

Abstract: In this paper evidence from trend data national evaluations and efficacy and effectiveness studies are used to critically analyze the plausible causal relationship between international and national initiatives to promote breast-feeding and changes in breast-feeding behavior in Latin America. An analysis is provided of the age-specific effect of breast-feeding on infant health in relation to age-specific maternal breast-feeding behaviors and response to specific interventions.