Objective

To assess changes in antibiotic resistance of eight of the World Health Organization priority bug-drug combinations and consumption of six antibiotics (ceftriaxone, cefepime, piperacillin/tazobactam, meropenem, ciprofloxacin, vancomycin) before (March 2018 to July 2019) and during (March 2020 to July 2021) the COVID-19 pandemic in 31 hospitals in Valle del Cauca, Colombia.

Methods

This was a before/after study using routinely collected data. For antibiotic consumption, daily defined doses (DDD) per 100 bed-days were compared.

Whole-genome sequencing is becoming the gold standard for pathogen characterization and offers considerable advantages for understanding the evolution and dissemination of new determinants of antimicrobial resistance. Despite the benefits of whole-genome sequencing for pathogen characterization, implementation costs and lack of expertise may limit its use by public health laboratories. This article reviews the advantages of whole-genome sequencing for pathogen characterization and the current status of the use of whole-genome sequencing for antimicrobial resistance surveillance in Ecuador.

Objective

To assess the compliance in secondary and tertiary level hospitals with monthly reporting of antibiotic consumption to the Colombian National Public Health Surveillance System (SIVIGILA-INS), and to describe reported antibiotic consumption during 2018–2020.

Objective

To present and analyze the Peruvian health system's response to the sexual and reproductive health needs of Venezuelan women living in the city of Lima, Peru, and to identify some of the reasons underlying this response.

Methods

Information was collected through semi-structured, in-depth telephone interviews with 30 Venezuelan women, 10 healthcare workers, and two Ministry of Health officials.

Objectives

To determine the prevalence of antibodies against Treponema pallidum and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), and to identify the factors associated with these infections among migrants in transit in Chiapas, Mexico.

Objective

To identify the temporal trend in mortality and years of life lost to death or disability (DALY) due to motorcycle accidents in males from Latin America and the Caribbean from 2010 to 2019, using estimates produced by the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study.

Method

In this ecological study, the time series was analyzed using a piecewise linear regression model (joinpoint) to estimate and test the annual percent change and the average annual percent change with a 95% confidence interval.

Objective

To identify strategies to increase adherence to systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) treatment and describe the barriers and facilitators for implementing these strategies in primary health care (PHC).

The objective of this descriptive and exploratory study with a qualitative basis was to identify MERCOSUR resolutions on pesticide residues in food issued between 1991 and 2022, analyzing the regional harmonization processes of these milestones and their incorporation into the regulatory framework of MERCOSUR founding Member States (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay).

Objectives

To estimate the burden of permanent productivity losses caused by acute respiratory infections in South American countries in 2019.

The objective of this article is to describe the experience in Chile, during 2021 and 2022, with the validation of COVID-19 vaccines administered abroad and the main obstacles during the implementation of this process. This validation is given throughout South America and, in the case of Chile, it has been a successful undertaking with the validation of more than two million vaccines from different countries.