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Epidemiological Alerts Archives, 2003–2008
(Note: Series renamed, formerly EID Updates: Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Region of the Americas.)
The purpose of these alerts is to disseminate information on the latest public-health events that have been identified as risks to health, trade, and/or international travel. Most of these events are primarily due to infectious agents, while others are due to chemical or physical agents. The PAHO Epidemiological Alerts published at the regional level (for the Americas) complement the WHO Disease Outbreak News published at the global level. The latest issues can be found at the new site, 2009 onwards.
eid-eer-ew.htm
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Sterilization Manual for Health Centers
The purpose of this manual is to inform health workers on the protocols and simple procedures that have been developed to prevent healthcare-associated infections. The guidelines included in this handbook show which steps to follow in cleaning, preparing, sterilizing, storing, and transporting hospital equipment so as to guarantee sterile materials--awareness of which is crucial in providing patients with safe health care. This page provides a summary and access to the full text in Spanish.
amr-manual-esterilizacion.htm
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European Antibiotic Awareness Day (18 November 2008)
The first-ever European Antibiotic Awareness Day took place across Europe on 18 November 2008. European Antibiotic Awareness Day will be an annually recurring event that will raise awareness about the risks associated with inappropriate use of antibiotics and how to take antibiotics responsibly. This year's event set focus specifically on the need for everybody to stop any unnecessary use of antibiotics.
ECDC
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CD48/20 Violence and Injury Prevention
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International Health Regulations (IHR)
The International Health Regulations are an international legal instrument that covers measures for preventing the transnational spread of infectious diseases. The newly adopted IHR (2005) has as purpose and scope “to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease in ways that are commensurate with and restricted to public health risks, and which avoid unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade”. This page provides a detailed description and information on progress of its implementation, plus relevant links.
eer-ihrs.htm
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Health Surveillance and Disease Prevention and Control at PAHO
This page describes the PAHO Technical Area for Health Surveillance and Disease Prevention and Control(HSD), its mission and objectives, what it does in terms of projects and activities. It contains links to the four technical groups and the Pan American Center under its umbrella. Note: Prior to June 2006, the Area was named Disease Prevention and Control.
dpc-page.htm
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RAVREDA-AMI: Amazon Network for the Surveillance of Antimalarial Drug Resistance / Amazon Malaria Initiative
In October 2001, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded PAHO a grant for a program of joint activities in the Amazon subregion. This page describes the project and provides links to project documentation.
ravreda-ami.htm
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Partnerships to Contain Antimicrobial Resistance in South America: An Integrated Approach
Maintaining a flexible and participatory approach has been critical to developing local strategies to prevent and contain antimicrobial resistance (AMR). As a result, SAIDI partners have created individualized interventions in each of the participating countries corresponding to the specifics of local contexts. This fact sheet provides more information on SAIDI.
amr-saidi.htm
amr-saidi.pdf
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Hospital Infections: Legislation in Latin America
Comparative legislation study on the prevention, surveillance, and control of hospital (nosocomial) infections in Latin America, with the goal of analyzing trends and evaluating the current status of health surveillance systems. This page contains a summary and access to the full text in Spanish. This book is a collaborative effort of two PAHO technical units, Health Policies and Systems and Communicable Diseases.
amr-infecchospital-legislal.htm
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CSP27.R10: Regional Policy and Strategy for Ensuring Quality of Health Care, Including Patient Safety
This resolution from the 27th Pan American Sanitary Conference in 2007 sets forth the PAHO mandate for providing effective, safe, efficient, accessible,
appropriate, and satisfactory care for users, recognizing that policies are needed in the health sector that will impact the health care continuum, foster citizen involvement, and promote a culture of quality and safety in health care institution.
CSP27.R10
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Number of Cholera Cases in the Americas (1990–2006)
This Excel PDF table shows the number of reported cases of cholera in the Region and in the countries from 1990 to 2006.
cholera-1990-2006.pdf
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Regional Program on Antimicrobial Resistance: Combatting Resistance to Antibiotics in the Americas
This page describes the mission and areas of work of the PAHO Regional Program on Antimicrobial Resistance, which deals with the topic of resistance to antibiotics and bacterial and hospital (nosocomial) infections. It contains links to the WHO Global Strategy and main PAHO and WHO websites on the topic.
amr-program-page.htm
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WHA60.25: Integrating Gender Analysis and Actions into the Work of WHO: Draft Strategy
This resolution from the 60th World Health Assembly in 2007 sets forth the WHO mandate to analyze the data and act in ensuring and integrating gender equality into all health-related areas and all levels of health-care delivery and services for women and girls of all ages.
WHA60.25
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Foodborne Diseases, Emerging (WHO Fact Sheet No. 124)
This official WHO fact sheet offers basic information on emerging foodborne diseases (FBDs). Some foodborne diseases are well recognized but are considered emerging because they have recently become more common, e.g. Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholerae, Listeria monocytogenes, trematodes, 'mad cow disease'. New foodborne disease threats occur for a number of reasons. Causes include increase in international travel and trade, microbial adaptation and changes in the food production system, as well as human demographics and behaviour.
WHO
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Drug-Resistant Salmonella (WHO Fact Sheet No. 139)
This official WHO fact sheet provides basic information on Salmonellosis, one of the most common and widely distributed foodborne diseases. It constitutes a major public health burden and represents a significant cost in many countries. Millions of human cases are reported worldwide every year and the disease results in thousands of deaths. Salmonellosis is caused by the bacteria Salmonella. Today, there are over 2500 known types, or serotypes, of Salmonella.
Recent studies provide increasing evidence of adverse human health consequences due to the occurrence of resistant microorganisms. These consequences can be divided into two categories: (1) infections that would otherwise not have occurred; and (2) increased frequency of treatment failures and increased severity of infections.
WHO
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Antimicrobial Resistance (WHO Fact Sheet No. 194)
This official WHO fact sheet offers basic information on anticrobial resistance (resistance to antibiotics). The great gains in health achieved by the development of antibiotics are now seriously jeopardized by another recent development: the emergence and spread of microbes that are resistant to cheap and effective first-choice, or "first-line" drugs. The bacterial infections which contribute most to human disease are also those in which emerging and microbial resistance is most evident: diarrhoeal diseases, respiratory tract infections, meningitis, sexually transmitted infections, and hospital-acquired infections.
WHO
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Campylobacter (WHO Fact Sheet No. 255)
This official WHO fact sheet provides basic information on Campylobacter, bacteria that are a major cause of diarrhoeal illness in humans and are generally regarded as the most common bacterial cause of gastroenteritis worldwide. In developed and developing countries, they cause more cases of diarrhoea than, for example, foodborne Salmonella bacteria. In developing countries, Campylobacter infections in children under the age of two years are especially frequent, sometimes resulting in death. In almost all developed countries, the incidence of human campylobacter infections has been steadily increasing for several years. The reasons for this are unknown.
WHO
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Cholera (WHO Fact Sheet No. 107)
This official WHO fact sheet provides basic information on cholera, an acute intestinal infection caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It has a short incubation period, from less than one day to five days, and produces an enterotoxin that causes a copious, painless, watery diarrhea that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death if treatment is not promptly given. Vomiting also occurs in most patients. However, most persons infected with V. cholerae do not become ill, although the bacterium is present in their faeces for 7-14 days. When illness does occur, more than 90% of episodes are of mild or moderate severity and are difficult to distinguish clinically from other types of acute diarrhea. Less than 10% of ill persons develop typical cholera with signs of moderate or severe dehydration.
WHO
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Use of antimicrobials outside human medicine and resultant antimicrobial resistance in humans (WHO Fact Sheet No. 268)
This official WHO fact sheet provides basic information on how antimicrobials have also been used increasingly for the treatment of bacterial disease in animals, fish and plants. In addition, they became an important element of intense animal husbandry because of their observed growth-enhancing effect, when added in sub-therapeutic doses to animal feed. Some of the newly-emerging resistant bacteria in animals are transmitted to humans; mainly via meat and other food of animal origin or through direct contact with farm animals.
WHO
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Annual Report of the Monitoring/Surveillance Network for Resistance to Antibiotics, 2004 (Brasilia, Brazil, 27-29 July 2005)
The report of this annual meeting provides country data for 2004 on antimicrobials, bacterial and hospital (nosocomial) infections, and enteric and non-enteric pathogens.
amr-2004.htm
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Communicable Disease Prevention and Control at PAHO: Aims, Strategies and Lines of Action
This page summarizes the mission, objectives, strategies and lines of action of the PAHO Communicable Disease Unit and describes what it hopes to accomplish through technical cooperation.
cd-unit-page.htm
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A Guide to Healthy Food Markets
With over half of the world’s population now living in urban areas, food markets have become important sources of affordable food for many millions of people. At the same time, however, such markets have been associated with major outbreaks of diseases, including cholera, SARS and avian influenza. This link goes to the full-text 42-page guide on the WHO website.
WHO
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Foodborne Pathogens and Disease
This links is to the major online journal, which in turn also offers links to other scholarly articles on the topic.
Liebert, Inc. Publishers
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Investing in Global Health: 'Best Buys' and Priorities for Action in Developing Countries
These three new volumes from the World Bank Disease Control Priorities Project--Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries (2nd ed.), Priorities in Health, and Global Burden of Disease and Risk Factors--are part of an ongoing initiative to provide technical resources to improve the health systems, and ultimately the health of people, in developing countries.
DCP Site
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Priorities in Health
Two overarching themes emerge from the extensive research and analyses in this World Bank publication: (1) Current resources can yield substantial health gains if knowledge of cost-effective interventions were applied more fully. (2) Additional resources are needed in low-income countries to minimize the glaring inequities in health care. Increased resources would provide highly-effective interventions, expand research, and extend basic health coverage to more people. WHO contributed to this publication.
DCPP
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Vth Meeting of the Surveillance Network for Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Amazon Countries
This yearly meeting was sponsored by PAHO and three US government agencies:
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Agency for International Development (USAID). This page offers a summary on compliance with the past year's recommendations and the recommendations made at the meeting, as well as access to the final report in Spanish.
eer-red-amazonica-05.htm
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CD46.R16: PAHO Gender Equality Policy
Resolution adopted at the 46th PAHO Directing Council in September 2005, which lays down the PAHO mandate for gender equality in health and development in the Americas, in accordance with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
cd46.r16-e.pdf
CD46.R16
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Nosocomial Infection Program Rapid Evaluation Guide (Washington, DC, July 2005)
The purpose of this guide is to (a) provide orientation for hospital directors on review and improvement of the nosocomial infection programs that all such facilities should have, and (b) provide a general overview rather than specifics on the status of hospital nosocomial infection prevention and control activities. This page provides a description and access to the full text.
amr-guiaInfecIH.htm
amr-guiaInfecIH.pdf
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WHA58/27: Improving the Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance
In May 2005, the World Health Assembly adopted this resolution for the global containment of resistance to antimicrobials (antibiotics), which constitutes not only the WHO global mandate but also the PAHO mandate for the Americas.
WHA58/27
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A58/62: Seventh Report of Committee A
This report from the 58th World Health Assembly in 2005 deals with (1) antimicrobial resistance as a threat to global health security, and its containment; and (2) Strengthening pandemic influenza preparedness and response, and enhancing laboratory biosafety. It set forth the WHO global mandate in this regard and has been adopted by PAHO for the Americas.
A58/62
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VIth Meeting of the Southern Cone Surveillance Network for Emerging Infectious Diseases (Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil, 4–5 March 2005)
This yearly meeting was sponsored by PAHO and three US government agencies:
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Agency for International Development (USAID). This page offers a summary on compliance with the past year's recommendations and the recommendations made at the meeting, as well as access to the final report in Spanish.
eer-red-cono-sur-vi.htm
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Malaria
This page offers the user a panoramic view of all PAHO materials on malaria. The documents are organized according to the following categories: surveillance, prevention and control, PAHO activities, Other PAHO Materials, and General Information/Links. It also contains a listing of featured items for all categories with the most important documents from each, and a side bar containing frequently requested items, upcoming events, and/or new books.
malaria.htm
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WHO-EB115.R6: Antimicrobial Resistance: A Threat to Global Health Security
In January 2005, the WHO Executive Board adopted this resolution to deal with the danger to public health raised by antimicrobial resistance, or resistance to antibiotics, recommending that it be passed by that year's World Health Assembly. It laid the groundwork not only the WHO global mandate but also the PAHO mandate for the Americas.
WHO-EC115.R6
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Legislation on Antibiotics in Latin America
The objective of this study is to analyze existing legislation on the general topic of prescription drugs and on the specific topic of antibiotics, with the goal of evaluating its regulatory effectiveness and applicability, and to weigh the influence and repercussions of judicial measures on the causes of and solutions to the inappropriate use of antibiotics. This page offers an executive summary and access to the full text in Spanish.
amr-legis.htm
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Recommendations of a Group of Experts: Standards for the Use of Automated Identification Systems for Bacteria and Susceptibility to Antimicrobials (Brasilia, Brazil, 26–28 October 2004)
The general objective of the Expert Committee was to define the processes that guarantee the quality of the information generated by automated systems for identifying bacteria and testing susceptibility to antimicrobial drugs.
Specifically, they wanted to identify critical points and criteria for internal quality control, define a program for external performance evaluation, and prepare a short guide for technical evaluation visits. This page offers a summary in English and access to the full text in Spanish.
amr-GuiaAutoEvalDesemp.htm
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Regional Core Health Data System - Indicators Glossary
Definition, technical note, type, measure units, categories, and subcategories for each indicator in the Regional Core Health Data System
glossary.htm
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EID Updates: Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Region of the Americas, Vol. 2, No. 23—5 August 2004
This issue offers the most recent information on the outbreaks of aseptic meningitis in Puerto Rico and of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus of community origin in Uruguay.
eid-eer-2004-aug-05.htm
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Annual Report of the Monitoring/Surveillance Network for Resistance to Antibiotics 2003
The annual report on surveillance of resistance to antibiotics in participating countries of the Region of the Americas is discussed and analyzed for the purpose of taking measures for continuous quality improvement of data and its usefulness in orienting clinicians on the rational use of antibiotics. This page offers a summary with recommendations and access to the full text in Spanish (presented at the meeting in Lima in 2004).
amr-lima-2004.htm
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EID Weekly Updates: Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Region of the Americas, Vol. 2, No. 22—1 July 2004
This issue offers updated information on the confirmed outbreak of Bolivian Hemorrhagic Fever (BHF) in the Department of Beni, Itenez Province, Bolivia; and on the Typhoid Fever epidemic in Ca Pierre, Haiti.
eid-eer-01-jul-2004.htm
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Frequently Asked Questions on the Proposed Revision of the International Health Regulations (IHRs)
These 21 questions have been made available to the countries for the revision process of the International Health Regulations (IHRs) currently in progress. The revisions will be discussed and ratified during the upcoming World Health Assembly in May 2005.
WHO: IHR FAQs
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Campylobacter
This page offers the user a panoramic view of all PAHO materials on Campylobacter, a bacteria that has become resistant to antibiotics. The documents are organized according to the following categories: surveillance, prevention and control, PAHO activities, Other PAHO Materials, and General Information/Links. It also contains a listing of featured items for all categories with the most important documents from each, and a side bar containing frequently requested items, upcoming events, and/or new books.
campylobacter.htm
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EID Weekly Updates: Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Region of the Americas, Vol. 2, No. 17—29 April 2004
This issue offers updated information on the outbreak of SARS in China and on an outbreak of acute diarrea in the town of Rojas, Buenos Aires province, Argentina.
eid-eer-29-apr-2004.htm
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Campaign to Prevent Antimicrobial Resistance in Healthcare Settings
The CDC's Campaign to Prevent Antimicrobial Resistance aims to prevent antimicrobial resistance in healthcare settings. The campaign centers on four main strategies: prevent infection, diagnose and treat infection, use antimicrobials wisely, and prevent transmission. Within the context of these strategies, multiple 12-step programs are being developed targeting clinicians who treat specialty-specific patient populations including hospitalized adults, dialysis patients, surgical patients, hospitalized children, and long-term care patients. Educational tools and materials are being developed for each patient population. (63 slides with comprehensive notes attached to each)
CDC
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Third Joint Meeting of the Networks for Surveillance of Emerging Infectious Diseases (Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 26-28 February 2004)
The objectives of this yearly meeting were (a) to present and discuss subregional activities carried out by the EID surveillance networks; and (2)
to identify commitments and activities for the period 2004/2005, taking into account the guidelines of the plans of action of each one of them. This page provides the executive summary and access to the 124-page report in PDF, with links to the individual chapters.
eer-atl-2004.htm
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Salmonella
This page offers the user a panoramic view of all PAHO materials on Salmonella, a bacteria that has become resistant to antibiotics. The documents are organized according to the following categories: surveillance, prevention and control, PAHO activities, Other PAHO Materials, and General Information/Links. It also contains a listing of featured items for all categories with the most important documents from each, and a side bar containing frequently requested items, upcoming events, and/or new books.
salmonella.htm
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Shigella
This page offers the user a panoramic view of all PAHO materials on Shigella, a bacteria that has become resistant to antibiotics. The documents are organized according to the following categories: surveillance, prevention and control, PAHO activities, Other PAHO Materials, and General Information/Links. It also contains a listing of featured items for all categories with the most important documents from each, and a side bar containing frequently requested items, upcoming events, and/or new books.
Shigella.htm
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Tuberculosis
This page offers the user a panoramic view of all PAHO materials on tuberculosis, organized according to the following categories: surveillance, prevention and control, PAHO activities, Other PAHO Materials, and General Information/Links. It also lists featured items for all categories containing the most important documents from each, and a side bar containing links to information systems, frequently requested items, upcoming events, etc.
tuberculosis.htm
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Cost of Hospital Infection in Nine Countries of Latin America
This page provides a two-page summary (and access to the full 184-page e-book in Spanish) of the newly published book containing twelve articles from nine countries on the phenomenon of nosocomial (hospital) infections, a problem threatening the public health of the Region. The annex includes the protocol used to determine the cost of hospital-acquired infections for the country's health-care system.
eer-amr-costo-infec-nosocomial.htm
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Practical Guide for in vivo Antimalarial Drug-Efficacy Studies in the Americas (RAVREDA-AMI, revised version, October 2003)
Resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to antimalarial drugs is one of the most serious challenges facing national malaria control programs in the Americas. While in vivo drug-efficacy studies do not require sophisticated technology, they are not simple to conduct correctly. They require a well-trained and experienced clinical and laboratory team that closely follows the study protocol. The purpose of this guide, which is based on recent experiences with antimalarial drug efficacy studies in South America, was to complement to the WHO guidelines and standardized protocols. It is hoped that this guide, together with the generic protocols, will contribute to the successful implementation of in vivo studies and a surveillance system for antimalarial drug resistance in the Americas.
guia-practica.htm
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CD44.R6: Primary Health Care in the Americas: Lessons Learned over 25 Years and Future Challenges
This resolution from the 44th PAHO Directing Council in 2003, taking into consideration the Declaration of Alma-Ata and past PAHO resolutions, sets forth the mandate of improving the quality of primary care in the Americas: more equitable access to health services, improved surveillance and information systems in this context, improved training for healthcare workers, a health promotion approach, better policy implementation, local community-based approaches and models, working towards the Millennium Development Goals, etc.
CD44.R6
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Antimicrobial Resistance
This page offers the user a panoramic view of all PAHO materials on antimicrobial resistance (i.e. bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics). The documents are organized according to the following categories: surveillance, prevention and control, PAHO activities, Other PAHO Materials, and General Information/Links. It also contains a listing of featured items for all categories with the most important documents from each, and a side bar containing frequently requested items, upcoming events, and/or new books.
antimicrob.htm
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Reflections on TB/HIV and MDR
This 34-slide PowerPoint presentation was given in Honduras at the Workshop on TB/HIV Co-Infection in August 2003. It discusses the increased risk that people living with HIV/AIDS have of contracting the lethal form of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, as well as preventive methods and methodological problems that arise in survey measurements.
PowerPoint
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An Update on Quality Assurance and Procurement through WHO for Improving Access to Artemisinin-based Combination Treatments (ACTs) for Malaria
Consistent with WHO recommendations, malaria endemic countries which are experiencing high levels of resistance to currently used antimalarial drugs such as chloroquine and sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine (SP) are changing treatment policies from monotherapies to artemisinin-based combination treatments (ACTs). This four-page update provides the latest information on these pharmaceutical developments for treating P. falciparum malaria.
mal-acts-update-7-03.htm
mal-acts-update-7-03.doc
mal-acts-update-7-03.pdf
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EID Weekly Updates: Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Region of the Americas, Vol. 1, No. 1—10 July 2003
This issue contains updates on the following topics: SARS; Columbian outbreaks of Jungle Yellow Fever and Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis; First human case of West Nile Virus in the USA; new PAHO papers on influenza and antimicrobial resistance; PAHO PowerPoint presentations on cholera, monkeypox, and West Nile virus, and SARS training modules on preventing hospital infection.
eid-eer-10-jul-2003.htm
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WHO, List of Links on Communicable Diseases (by topic)
This list of links gives the user direct access to the main WHO pages on the various communicable diseases or on themes related to them.
cd-who-links.htm
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Resistance to antimicrobials and combination therapy assessment in neonatal sepsis
The objective of the study presented in this article, was to estimate antibiotic resistance among bacterial strains isolated from patients with neonatal sepsis from January 1994 through December 1998, and to assess the predictive value of the checkerboard method for selecting treatment with combination antibiotic therapy in seriously ill patients. (Rev Panam Salud Pública, 2003 13(4):214-221)
v13n4-hernandez.htm
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Annual Regional Report from Countries Participating in the Network for Monitoring and Surveillance of Resistance to Antibiotics (2002 data) (Buenos Aires, Argentina, 10–13 May 2003)
As part of the body of knowledge needed to combat the development of resistance to antimicrobials, since 1997 19 countries of the Region have been part of a network that makes yearly reports on the percentages of resistance to enteric bacteria found in the community and in hospitals. This report provides the data from 2002, by country, with maps, tables, and figures.
amr-2002.htm
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Pan American Journal of Public Health - Vol. 13, No. 4, April 2003
Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública /Pan American Journal of Public Health - Vol. 13, No. 4, April 2003
v13n4.htm
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Pan American Health Organization's Proposed Contribution to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) / Latin America and Caribbean Bureau's Amazon Malaria Initiative (AMI): Project Proposal and Workplans for Years 2 & 3 (March 2003)
This proposal describes the activities and related budget for the AMI project to be implemented over the two-year period of 2003-2004 and to be completed by September 30, 2004. It provides access to the workplans for regional and national activities as well as for the organizations working together in the project. The page provides access to a summary, the full-text report, and the individual workplans.
mar03-paho-ami-2.htm
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Recommendations of an Expert Committee: Performance Evaluation Standards for the Kirby-Bauer Antibiogram (Areas of Inhibition or Interpretation) (Santiago, Chile, 24–26 February 2003)
The objectives of this meeting were to define and document the standards that will be applied to the performance evaluation of laboratories participating in the Latin American Network for Monitoring Antimicrobial Resistance, document the basic quality control standards for the laboratories that participate in the national surveillance networks, and draft recommendations for maintaining performance quality in all participating countries. This page contains a summary and the full-text report.
amr-GuiaLabEvalDesemp.htm
amr-GuiaLabEvalDesemp.pdf
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Model for a Clinical Handbook for the Treatment of Infectious Diseases
Antimicrobial substances are those either produced by microorganisms (antibiotics produced by bacteria, fungi or actinomicetos) or chemically synthesized (sulfa drugs, quinolones) that have the capacity to destroy, impede, or delay the multiplication of others microorganisms. In medical practice, both are called “antibiotics.” Antibiotic therapy is used to treat patients showing symptoms and clinical signs of infection. This guide was produced in Spanish for use in Latin American countries; this page includes a summary in English and access to the full text in Spanish.
guia-clinica.htm
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WHO Disease Outbreak News
This link provides access to the latest WHO updates and archives on disease outbreaks throughout the world.
WHO
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Hurrying Toward Disaster?
This article describes how new, emerging and reemerging infectious diseases in the context of globalization, population growth and alterations to ecological systems can affect global health, and how we must prepare to combat them.
Perspectives in Health
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List of Participants: 4th Meeting of the Emerging Disease Surveillance Network of the Southern Cone (Asunción, Paraguay, 30 May—1 June 2001)
This list of experts in emerging and reemerging diseases in the Southern Cone (and also of the attending CDC and PAHO area specialists) is included for networking and exchange purposes.
paraguay-red-junio-2001-parts.htm
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Perspectives in Health - Volume 7, Number 1, 2002
Magazine published three times a year by the Pan American Health Organization. This edition features the following articles: Are We Killing the Cures? Antibiotic Resistance - Facing the Music - A PAHO Family Album: 100 Years of Public Health - Mexico's Pill Pioneer - Seeing the Whole Child
Number13_index.htm
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Annual Regional Meeting of Countries Participating in the Monitoring/Surveillance Network on Resistance to Antibiotics (Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, 17-19 April 2002)
As part of the knowledge necessary to combat the development of antimicrobial resistance, since 1997 20 countries in the Region have formed a network that reports annually on the percentages of resistance to enteric bacterias. Since 2000, surveillance has expanded to other species found in communities and in hospitals. This page offers an executive summary and a link to the full-text document in Spanish containing the country reports.
amr-santa-cruz.htm
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First Technical Coordination Meeting of the Amazonian Network for Surveillance of Antimalarial Drug Resistance (RAVREDA) and the Amazon Malaria Initiative (AMI) (Santa Cruz, Bolivia, 19-20 March 2002)
This meeting was attended by representatives from PAHO, WHO, USAID and CDC and the eight Amazon countries that make up the surveillance network and participate in the AMI project. This page offers the full-text conference report as well as links to other relevant documentation.
reunion2002.htm
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2nd Joint Meeting of the Surveillance Network for Emerging Diseases in the Amazon and Southern Cone Regions (Atlanta, 23-24 March 2002)
Rapidly-spreading diseases from the group known as emerging infectious diseases require surveillance systems endowed with great sensibility allowing for immediate action to impede outbreak propogation or to control epidemics. In this context, a new paradigm of global cooperation has been established, where the objective is to reach common goals, work as a team, maintain a constant channel of communication, and know how to detect abnormalities.
This page offers PDF access to the full-text conference report, with country reports and disease recommendations organized separately.
redes-eer-atl-2002.htm
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List of Participants, First Technical Meeting of First Technical Coordination Meeting of the Amazonian Network for Surveillance of Antimalarial Drug Resistance (RAVREDA) and the Amazon Malaria Initiative (AMI) (Santa Cruz, Bolivia, 19-20 March 2002)
This list of experts involved in antimalarial drug resistance in the Amazon countries is included for networking and exchange purposes.
sc-participantes.htm
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Monitoring Antimalarial Drug Resistance, Report of a WHO Consultation
The objectives of this consultation were to review and update WHO protocols for assessing the therapeutic efficacy of antimalarial drugs for treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in areas with intense transmission and low to moderate transmission; review the draft guidelines for assessing the therapeutic efficacy of chloroquine for vivax malaria; review the role of in vitro tests and current methods for detecting molecular markers in the surveillance of resistance to antimalarial drugs; and define the technical and operational elements needed for strengthening surveillance of drug resistance of both falciparum and vivax malaria at country level. This link goes to the full-text report at the WHO site, complete with executive summary.
WHO
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Monitoring Antimalarial Drug Resistance: Report of a WHO Consultation
The objectives of this consultation were to review and update WHO protocols for assessing the therapeutic efficacy of antimalarial drugs treating uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in areas with intense transmission and low-moderate transmission; review the draft guidelines for assessing the therapeutic efficacy of chloroquine for P. vivax malaria; review the role of in vitro tests and current methods for detecting molecular markers in the surveillance of resistance to antimalarial drugs; and define the technical and operational elements needed for strengthening surveillance
of drug resistance of both P. falciparum and P. vivax malaria at the country level.
WHO
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Antimicrobial Resistance Bibliography
This comprehensive bibliography on antimicrobial resistance, produced by the PAHO Program on Communicable Diseases with funding from USAID, covers all information on the subject found in the MEDLINE and LILACS databases. This document tells how to offer the free CD with multimedia materials and database, and also offers access to the 769-page book in downloadable PDF files with embedded links.
antimicrob-bib.htm
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WHO Global Strategy for Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance
The emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance increasingly threatens the success of infectious disease treatment and prevention in the 21st century. To respond to this threat, WHO has developed the first Global Strategy for Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance. Addressed to policy-makers and managers in a range of sectors and agencies, the Strategy aims to both persuade governments to take urgent action and then to guide this action with expert technical and practical advice.
amr-link-who-site.htm
OMS
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Pan American Health Organization's Proposed Contribution to the United States Agency for International Development / Latin America and Caribbean Bureau Amazon Malaria Initiative (AMI): Project Proposal and Workplans for Year One (2002)
This document lays out the agreement between PAHO and USAID for the collaboration between RAVREDA, the Amazonian Network for Surveillance of Antimalarial Drug Resistance, and the Amazon Malaria Initiative. It provides access to the regional and country workplans for the eight countries involved as foreseen for the first year (2002), as well as the full-text proposal.
paho-ami.htm
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4th Meeting of the Emerging Disease Surveillance Network of the Southern Cone (Asunción, Paraguay, 30 May—1 June 2001)
The movement of people throughpout the world currently constitutes an important risk factor for diseases spreading from one place to another. It requires both organization and communication to confront the ever-growing threat of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases (EID)in the Region. The objectives of this meeting were to renew contacts and maintain communication among laboratories, generate minimal information, identify areas in need of strengthening, plan the future and incorporate other illnesses or problems that require attention or prioritization, and design prevention and control strategies. This page offers access to the recommendations as well as the full-text conference report in PDF, with instant access to individual country and disease data.
paraguay-red-junio-2001.htm
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Third Meeting of the Surveillance Network for Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Amazon Countries--Monitoring Resistance to Antimalarial Drugs: Treatment Policies (Salvador, Bahia, Brazil; 9-11 March 2001)
This meeting of the Amazon Malaria Initiative (AMI)--a joint endeavor of PAHO/WHO, USAID and CDC--involved the participation of public-health professionals, representatives of international institutions and governmental cooperation agencies. Activities included (a) analysis of antimalarial drug policy and the current state of resistance to the drugs in the respective countries; (b) discussion of aspects of syndromic surveillance; (c) discussion of importance of regulating reagents and quality control to confirm suspected clinical cases; (d) description of regional activities promoting surveillance of antibiotic resistance. The full text of the document is offered here along with a summary and the recommendations.
reunion2001.htm
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List of Participants: Third Meeting of the Network for the Surveillance of Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Amazon Countries (Bahia, Brasil, 9-11 March 2001)
This list, meant for networking and exchange purposes, provides contact information for the international experts of the Amazon Malaria Initiative (AMI), a joint PAHO-USAID-CDC project with the eight countries involved as part of the WHO global strategy, Roll Back Malaria. The focus of this group is on resistance to antimalarial drugs.
participantes.htm
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Annual Regional Meeting of Countries Participating in the Network for Monitoring/Surveillance of Resistance to Antibiotics (Asunción, Paraguay, 31 January–February 2001)
This HTML page offers the executive summary of and recommendations from the conference in English, with a link to the Spanish page containing the full-text document (138 pages, in PDF) with glossary, country data, performance and laboratory evaluations, quality-control systems, list of participants, bibliography, etc.
amr-resultados-2000.htm
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List of Participants (by country, and PAHO): Annual Regional Meeting of the Countries Participating in the Network for Monitoring/Surveillance of Resistance to Antibiotics (Asunción, Paraguay, 31 January–2 February 2001)
This list of regional experts in the area of antimicrobial resistance is included on the PAHO web for networking and exchange purposes. It provides full contact information, with e-mail in most cases.
amr-participantes.htm
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Protocol for Calculating the Cost of Hospital Infections (Washington, DC, 2000)
The objectives of this protocol are to (1) determine the excess cost attributable to hospital infections in selected hospitals, (2)
train staff at the selected hospitals in methodologies for calculating the cost of hospital infections, and (3) determine the cumulative incidence of bacteremias associated with Staphylococcus aureus and the proportion of such infections with resistance to oxacillin. This page offers a summary and access to the full text.
amr-cost-ih-proto.htm
amr-cost-ih-proto.pdf
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WHO Report on Infectious Diseases: Overcoming Microbial Resistance
On this radio page put out by WHO for broadcasting purposes are a wide-ranging selection of authoritative opinions about the WHO Report on Infectious Diseases "Overcoming Microbial Resistance".
WHO-antibiotic.htm
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CD41.R14: Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Resistance
On pages 25-26 of this final report of the 41st PAHO Directing Council in 1999, can be found the resolution on emerging and reemerging infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance, or resistance to antibiotics. This resolution constitutes the PAHO mandate for dealing with these diseases, recognizing the need for effective epidemic alert and response.
CD41.R14
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Second Meeting of a Surveillance Network for Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) in the Southern Cone Region (Brasilia, Brazil, 11-13 May 1999)
The goal of this second meeting was to continue efforts to establish a functional network of laboratories within the greater Southern Cone Region--Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay--capable to obtain accurate, high-quality laboratory results on new, emerging and re-emerging infections found in the Region.
brasilia.htm
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Respiratory Infections in Children
Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) represent one of the main health problems among children under five years of age. In the Region of the Americas, ARIs stand among the five main causes of death among children under five and are the main cause of sickness and doctor visits. This page offers a summary and access to the e-book containing 22 scholarly articles on this topic, in separate PDF files.
aiepi1.htm
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Prevention and Control of Antimicrobial Resistance in the Americas: Strategic Plan for Surveillance of Resistance to Antibiotics
In light of the threat to public health posed by the growing problem of drug
resistance, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) convened an expert group meeting, which was held in Asunción, Paraguay, on 27-29 January 1999 (see List of Participants in Annex 6). The participants drafted a three-year program for addressing this problem in the Region. The program's resources will support interventions aimed at the control and prevention of antimicrobial resistance in the following countries: Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Peru. The document is available in MS Word (243 KB) and pdf (193 KB).
RegionalPlanParaguay.doc
RegionalPlanParaguay.pdf
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WHA51.17: Emerging and Other Communicable Diseases: Antimicrobial Resistance
In 1998, the 51st World Health Assembly adopted this resolution, setting forth the WHO global mandate for the fight against resistance to antibiotics as well as for adopting new approaches for dealing with emerging diseases. PAHO has adopted this mandate for the Americas.
amr-eer-wha51-17-eng.pdf
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Meeting to Establish a Network of Laboratories for the Surveillance of Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) in the Southern Cone Region: Buenos Aires, Argentina, 17-19 April 1998
The main goal of the meeting was to create a functional network of laboratories within the greater Southern Cone Region--Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay--capable of obtaining accurate, high-quality laboratory results on new, emerging and re-emerging infections found in the Region. This page summarizes the objectives and conclusions of the meeting and provides access to the full-text conference report.
doc429.htm
doc429.pdf
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