Category: Americas
Working Towards an Achievable Goal: A World without CRS
When I started focusing on rubella in 1994, it was mainly recognized as a significant public health problem in high-income countries. When the public health community realized that rubella and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) were actually significant public health issues in the entire region of the Americas, things took a turn and an elimination goal Read More >
Posted on byCDC Collaborations with the Ministry of Health in Dominican Republic Result in Measurable Public Health Gains
For a relatively small country where CDC established a full-time country office only five years ago, the Dominican Republic is suddenly drawing attention. It’s easy to see why. The Dominican Republic is a popular vacation destination with 1.4 million Americans visiting each year. The country has a unique relationship with its neighbor, Haiti, the poorest Read More >
Posted on bySeptember 29 is World Heart Day!
In honor of World Heart Day, the CDC Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention was asked to write commentary on the work the CDC is doing worldwide in reducing the morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular diseases. The theme of this year’s World Heart Day is one that touches everyone—the cardiovascular health of Read More >
Posted on byFresh Voices From the Field: HIV in the Caribbean
This is the fifth in our ongoing “Fresh Voices From the Field” series, where we hear from ASPPH (Association of School and Programs of Public Health) Global Health Fellows working throughout the world. Global Health Fellows are recent Master of Public Health or Doctoral graduates placed in CDC global health offices in Atlanta and abroad. Read More >
Posted on by 1 CommentDengue in Haiti
There is arguably one place that was more affected by the January 2010 earthquake than Port-au-Prince, and that is Léogâne. A low-lying coastal town about a two-hour drive from the capital, Léogâne was the epicenter of the earthquake that devastated Haiti. As part of my Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) fieldwork, I have been investigating Read More >
Posted on byHaiti is Saying Goodbye to Lymphatic Filariasis, In Spite of Earthquake
Our teams gave a two-medicine dose to Haitians in our capital city, Port-au-Prince—but most people had no water to swallow the pills. How would we overcome the ongoing cholera outbreak and displacement from the 2010 earthquake to finally rid Haiti of the horribly disfiguring and painful disease called lymphatic filariasis? Lymphatic filariasis, sometimes known Read More >
Posted on bySaying YES for Children
Imagine that you woke up this morning and the newspaper headlines said that scientists had discovered a new disease. The scientists went on to report that over 1 billion children throughout the world were exposed to this disease each and every year. Furthermore the scientists reported that those exposed to this disease were at Read More >
Posted on byPlight to Save Sight: Eliminating the Scourge of River Blindness
Onchocerciasis, also known as River Blindness, is a neglected tropical disease that causes tremendous disability and suffering for individuals in some of the poorest communities on the planet. It is caused by the tiny parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus, which is transmitted by the Simulium blackfly. The name River Blindness is derived from the fact that Read More >
Posted on byProtect Your World – Get Vaccinated: World Immunization Week 2013
Every 20 seconds, a child dies from a disease that could be prevented with a safe and effective vaccine. Millions more children survive but are left severely disabled. Vaccines have the power not only to save but also transform lives by protecting against disease—giving children a chance to grow up healthy, go to school, and Read More >
Posted on by 3 CommentsWater Is Life: Combatting Cholera in Haiti
At the small water point in Trianon, Haiti, you can see a crowd gather. Here, as at many such sites across the country, locals wait their turn to fill buckets for drinking, washing and cooking – proving the adage that no matter where you are in the world, water is life. So when a deadly Read More >
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