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.

Animal Leptospirosis in Latin America and the Caribbean Countries: Reported Outbreaks and Literature Review (2002–2014)

Abstract: Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonotic disease whose transmission is linked through multiple factors in the animal-human-ecosystem interface. The data on leptospirosis reported to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) for Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries/sovereign territories from 2005–2011 were mapped, showing a wide distribution of outbreaks in the region. Tropical terrestrial biomes are the predominate ecosystems showing reports of outbreaks. Climatic and ecological factors were relevant to the occurrence of epidemic outbreaks. The available scientific information from 2002–2014 was summarized to obtain a general overview and identify key issues related to the One Health approach. The primary serological test used for diagnosis and for conducting surveys was the microscopic agglutination test (MAT). Reports regarding the isolation and typing of leptospires were scattered and limited to data from a few countries, but their results revealed considerable biodiversity at the species and serovar levels. A total of six out of 11 currently named pathogenic species were found in the region. There was also high diversity of animal species showing evidence of infection by leptospires, including rodents, pets, livestock and wild animals. Prevention and control measures for leptospirosis should consider issues of animal and human health in the context of ecosystems, the territorial land borders of countries and trade.

The SciELO Open Access: A Gold Way from the South

Abstract: Open access has long emphasized access to scholarly materials. However, open access can also mean access to the means of producing visible and recognized journals. This issue is particularly important in developing and emergent countries. The SciELO (Scientifi c Electronic Library On-line) project, first started in Brazil and, shortly afterward, in Chile, offers a prime example of how this form of access to publishing was achieved and how open access in the traditional sense was incorporated within it. Open access has allowed more visibility, transparency, and credibility for the SciELO journals that now span over a dozen countries, three continents, and more than 600 titles. Conversely, SciELO incarnates the most successful and impressive example of “gold OA,” that is, open access based on publishing rather than self-archiving; at the same time, its database acts like an open-access depository. LL’acces aux documents de recherche a constitue l’essentiel de ce que l’on appelle communement l’acces libre (AL). Pour autant, AL peut egalement incorporer le souci de l’acces aux moyens de publier des revues savantes visibles et reconnues. Cette question est particulierement importante pour des pays emergents ou en developpement. Le projet SciELO, lance initialement au Bresil, rapidement suivi par le Chili, offre un exemple signifi catif demontrant comment cet acces a la publication fut realise. Il montre egalement comment l’AL, au sens classique du terme, a ete incorpore dans cette strategie generale. En offrant aux revues SciELO plus de visibilite, plus de transparence et plus de credibilite, l’AL a trouve sa place naturelle au sein des revues SciELO, qui se trouvent dans plus d’une douzaine de pays, sur trois continents et ayant plus de six cents titres. De la meme maniere, SciELO offre desormais l’exemple le plus reussi de ce que l’on appelle la voie d’or dans la langue de l’acces libre, c’est-a-dire l’acces libre obtenu par la publication de revues en acces libre plutot que par l’auto-archivage d’articles dans des depots ouverts. Cela dit, les archives de SciELO fonctionne exactement comme un depot ouvert.

Progress toward Measles Eradication in the Region of the Americas

Abstract: Since 1994, when the goal of interrupting indigenous measles transmission was adopted, important progress has been made toward the control of measles in the Americas. Thirty-nine (95%) of 41 countries reporting to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) conducted catch-up vaccination campaigns during 1989-1995 and follow-up measles campaigns every 4 years. Routine (keep-up) vaccination coverage in the Region increased from 80% in 1994 to 94% in 2000. Measles vaccination coverage ranged between 75% and 99% in 2000 and between 53% and 99% in 2001. As a result, in 2001, the total number of confirmed measles cases reached a record low of 537, 99% lower than the number reported in 1990. In 2002, only Venezuela and Colombia had known indigenous transmission. As of January 2003, no known indigenous measles transmission had occurred in the Region since November 2002. This is due to high political commitment and implementation of PAHO's recommendations, including strengthened supervision and monitoring to improve accountability at the local level.

The U.S.-Mexico Border Infectious Disease Surveillance project: Establishing binational border surveillance

Abstract: In 1997, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Mexican Secretariat of Health, and border health officials began the development of the Border Infectious Disease Surveillance (BIDS) project, a surveillance system for infectious diseases along the U.S.-Mexico border. During a 3-year period, a binational team implemented an active, sentinel surveillance system for hepatitis and febrile exanthems at 13 clinical sites. The network developed surveillance protocols, trained nine surveillance coordinators, established serologic testing at four Mexican border laboratories, and created agreements for data sharing and notification of selected diseases and outbreaks. BIDS facilitated investigations of dengue fever in Texas-Tamaulipas and measles in California–Baja California. BIDS demonstrates that a binational effort with local, state, and federal participation can create a regional surveillance system that crosses an international border. Reducing administrative, infrastructure, and political barriers to cross-border public health collaboration will enhance the effectiveness of disease prevention projects such as BIDS.