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.

Availability, safety, and quality of blood for transfusion in the Americas

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: This article has two objectives: (1) to present for countries and territories of the Region of the Americas data on the number of blood donations, proportion of voluntary blood donors versus remunerated blood donors, coverage of screening for infectious agents, and separation of donated blood into its components and (2) to explore the relationships of those characteristics with economic and organizational factors in the countries and territories. METHODS: We carried out comparative analyses using population and health information gathered annually by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) from national health officials from the countries in the Americas, as well as economic information (gross national product (GNP) per capita) obtained from publications of the World Bank. RESULTS: There is a direct correlation between the availability of blood for transfusion and GNP per capita. Seven countries with a GNP per capita above US$ 10 000 per year account for 38% of the Regional population but 68% of the Regional blood donations. Voluntary blood donation is more common in the countries with better blood availability. There is no association between GNP per capita and coverage of screening for infectious agents. Nevertheless, of the six countries with a GNP per capita below US$ 1 000, only one of the six screens all units for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Countries with a higher proportion of voluntary blood donors tend to have lower prevalence rates of infectious markers. Separation of blood into its components is also more common in countries with higher blood donation rates. CONCLUSIONS: The availability, safety, and quality of blood for transfusion in the Americas needs to be improved. As part of that effort, national policies and strategies must be put into place so that the resources already allocated for blood services are better utilized.

Could the Recent Zika Epidemic Have Been Predicted

Abstract: Given knowledge at the time, the recent 2015-2016 zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic probably could not have been predicted. Without the prior knowledge of ZIKV being already present in South America, and given the lack of understanding of key epidemiologic processes and long-term records of ZIKV cases in the continent, the best related prediction could be carried out for the potential risk of a generic Aedes-borne disease epidemic. Here we use a recently published two-vector basic reproduction number model to assess the predictability of the conditions conducive to epidemics of diseases like zika, chikungunya or dengue, transmitted by the independent or concurrent presence of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. We compare the potential risk of transmission forcing the model with the observed climate and with state-of-the-art operational forecasts from the North American Multi Model Ensemble (NMME), finding that the predictive skill of this new seasonal forecast system is highest for multiple countries in Latin America and the Caribbean during the December-February and March-May seasons, and slightly lower –but still of potential use to decision-makers– for the rest of the year. In particular, we find that above-normal suitable conditions for the occurrence of the zika epidemic at the beginning of 2015 could have been successfully predicted at least one month in advance for several zika hotspots, and in particular for Northeast Brazil: the heart of the epidemic. Nonetheless, the initiation and spread of an epidemic depends on the effect of multiple factors beyond climate conditions, and thus this type of approach must be considered as a guide and not as a formal predictive tool of vector-borne epidemics.

Potential Intussusception Risk Versus Health Benefits From Rotavirus Vaccination in Latin America

Abstract: Background. With the recent postlicensure identification of an increased risk of intussusception with rotavirus vaccine, the 14 Latin American countries currently using rotavirus vaccine must now weigh the health benefits versus risks to assess whether to continue vaccination. To inform policy considerations, we estimated excess intussusception cases and mortality potentially caused by rotavirus vaccine for each of the 14 countries and compared these estimates to hospitalizations and deaths expected to be averted through vaccination. Methods. We used regional rotavirus disease burden and rotavirus vaccine efficacy data, global natural intussusception and regional rotavirus vaccine-related risk estimates, and country-specific diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussus vaccination coverage rates to estimate rotavirus vaccine coverage rates. We performed a probabilistic sensitivity analysis to account for uncertainty in these parameters. Results. For an aggregate hypothetical birth cohort of 9.5 million infants in these 14 countries, rotavirus vaccine would annually prevent 144 746 (90% confidence interval [CI], 128 821-156 707) hospitalizations and 4124 deaths (90% CI, 3740-4239) due to rotavirus in their first 5 years of life but could cause an additional 172 hospitalizations (90% CI, 126-293) and 10 deaths (90% CI, 6-17) due to intussusception, yielding benefit-risk ratios for hospitalization and death of 841:1 (90% CI, 479:1 to 1142:1) and 395:1 (90% CI, 207:1 to 526:1), respectively. In an uncertainty analysis using 10 000 simulations of our probabilistic parameters, in comparing rotavirus disease averted to intussusception events caused, the hospitalization ratio was never below 100:1, and our death ratio fell below 100:1 only once. Conclusions. The health benefits of vaccination far outweigh the short-term risks and support continued rotavirus vaccination in Latin America.