salud pública de méxico / vol. 50, suplemento 2 de 2008, pp.167-177.
In response to the emerging global concern regarding health and people with intellectual disabilities (ID), several developed countries have established national initiatives to address the unique health needs of this population ...segment. However, most people with ID reside in countries with developing economies, such as many Latin American countries, yet there is virtually no information on the health of people with ID in these regions. Countries with developing economies face distinct challenges in promoting health among this population segment that may preclude adoption or adaptation of policies and practices developed in regions with established economies. This paper will address the issue of health promotion among people with ID in Latin America, an area that is undergoing significant reforms in both health care and disability rights
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WHO lists 9th COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use to expand vaccination access in low-income countries, 17 December 2021
As vacinas COVID-19 são eficazes contra novas variantes? O que significa para uma pessoa estar totalmente vacinada? Essa e outras dúvidas estão entre as dúvidas mais frequentes sobre a vacinação contra a COVID-19. Nesta sexta edição você encontrará respostas para essas e outras perguntas.
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Available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese
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The Americas region hosts more than 18.4 million refugees, asylum-seekers, displaced and stateless people, representing some 20 per cent of persons of concern to UNHCR worldwide. During the last two years, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on refugees and ...migrants in host communities, including loss of livelihoods opportunities, an increase in evictions, engagement in negative coping mechanisms, discrimination and xenophobia. Further compounded by limited access to regularization and documentation in some countries, these impacts have contributed to onward movements of people in search of protection and/or better opportunities elsewhere.
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Esta ficha informativa destaca a relação entre o consumo de álcool e a COVID-19. O consumo episódico pesado é considerado um risco à saúde para a COVID-19, e o álcool é usado por alguns para lidar com as emoções difíceis que aumentaram durante a pandemia.
In areas of Mexico, Central America, and South America, where the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite is present in triatomine bugs, improved housing and spraying insecticide inside housing to eliminate the bugs has significantly decreased the spread of Chagas disease. Screening of blood donations for Chagas... is another important public health tool to help prevent spreading the disease through blood transfusions. Early detection and treatment of new cases, including mother-to-baby (congenital) cases, will also help reduce the burden of disease.
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About six to seven million people worldwide, mostly in Latin America, are estimated to be infected with
Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease (WHO data from 2021). Chagas disease is
found mainly in endemic areas of 21 Latin American countries. Chagas disease was once entirely
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confined to rural areas but in the last decades, due to population movements, most infected people live
in urban settings and the disease has spread to other continents. The burden of disease is due to its
chronic progression with people still suffering years later after initial infection.
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Chagas disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a protozoal organism primarily transmitted by triatomine insect vectors, also known as “kissing bugs.” It is a zoonotic disease originally described by Brazilian physician Dr. Carlos Chagas in 1909 and is widespread in Latin America. Although triato...mines and T. cruzi have long been endemic to the southern United States, awareness and identification of infected vectors and animals have recently increased throughout the United States. Canine Chagas disease can be acute or chronic and is predominantly characterized by inflammation and fibrosis of the heart, resulting in arrhythmias, myocardial dysfunction, heart failure, and sudden death, although many infected dogs are asymptomatic.
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Epidemiology
Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis) is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, and transmitted to humans by infected triatomine bugs, and less commonly by transfusion, organ transplant, from mother to infant, and in rare instances, by ingestion of contaminated food or... drink.1-4 The hematophagous triatomine vectors defecate during or immediately after feeding on a person. The parasite is present in large numbers in the feces of infected bugs, and enters the human body through the bite wound, or through the intact conjunctiva or other mucous membrane.
Vector-borne transmission occurs only in the Americas, where an estimated 8 to 10 million people have Chagas disease.5 Historically, transmission occurred largely in rural areas in Latin America, where houses built of mud brick are vulnerable to colonization by the triatomine vectors.4 In such areas, Chagas disease usually is acquired in childhood. In the last several decades, successful vector control programs have substantially decreased transmission rates in much of Latin America, and large-scale migration has brought infected individuals to cities both within and outside of Latin America.
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Chagas disease (CD) is endemic in the Americas, being present in 21 countries, where it affects about 6 million
people.(1) With such relevant numbers of people affected and disability adjusted life years lost, CD is a poverty-related
and poverty-promoting disease.
Although data describe a relevan...t ongoing public health problem for the American continent, significant results
in the interruption of transmission has been achieved by coordinated multi-country programs. In particular, the
Southern Cone Initiative (SCI), officially formalised in November 1991 by the Ministers of Health of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay, has shown how a well-designed control program can significantly reduce
CD transmission.(2) Before this initiative, in these countries, there were 11 million infected persons and 50 million at
risk, 62% of the infected individuals of the whole continent.
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The highly complex and largely neglected Chagas disease (CD) has become a global health problem due to population movements between Latin America and non-endemic countries, as well as non-vectorial transmission routes. Data on CD testing and treatment from routine patient care in Germany of almost t...wo decades was collected and analysed.
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American trypanosomiasis, commonly called
Chagas disease (CD), was prevalent once in rural areas
of Latin America where poverty is widespread and was
considered a silent and poorly visible disease. It
has become a global neglected tropical disease and a
significant public health th...reat worldwide due to
globalization over last century. More recently, it has
attracted much more attention, and “April 14” has
been designated as “World Chagas Disease Day” by
the World Health Assembly of 2019 to raise
awareness of the disease as a neglected tropical disease,
to improve the rates of early treatment and recovery,
and to achieve the ambitious goal to interrupt its
transmission.
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Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that is found in parts of the tropics, subtropics, and southern Europe. Leishmaniasis is caused by infection with Leishmania parasites, which are spread by the bite of infected sand flies. There are several different forms of leishmaniasis in people. The most com...mon forms are cutaneous leishmaniasis, which causes skin sores, and visceral leishmaniasis, which affects several internal organs (usually spleen, liver, and bone marrow).
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This technical report presents the epidemiology of human and animal leishmaniases in the EU and its neighbouring countries and concludes that the disease remains widespread and underreported in many countries of southern Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East and that there is a need to improv...e leishmaniasis prevention and control based on robust surveillance in humans, animals, and vectors, and to increase public awareness following a one health approach.
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More than one million people each year become infected by parasites that cause the disease cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). This disease manifests as one or more skin lesions or ulcers that are slow to heal with variable response rates to drug treatments. Thus far, little attention has been paid to how... the cultural effects of gender shape perceptions and experiences of CL. This review aims to bring together and analyse existing studies which use qualitative data to explore these differences. These studies offered insights into our specific research questions.
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Diabetes is a major public health problem in the Americas and worldwide, demanding special attention and integrated response. It is estimated that more than 62 million adults are living with diabetes in the Americas. The projections show that diabetes prevalence will continue to increase to at least... 2025. Its steady rise has been mainly due to the high prevalence of risk factors, especially overweight/obesity and physical inactivity.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Diabetes Compact (GDC) was created as a global initiative to improve diabetes prevention and care, and to contribute to the global targets to reduce premature mortality due to noncommunicable diseases by one-third by 2030.
Every November 14, World Diabetes Day is commemorated. This is an opportunity to raise awareness about the impact of diabetes on the health of people and to highlight the opportunities to strengthen the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diabetes.