HEARTS Pharmacy: A framework for integrating pharmacists in hypertension and cardiovascular disease risk management in primary care

HEARTS Pharmacy, a project within the HEARTS in the Americas Initiative, provides a framework to integrate pharmacists into primary health care. Pharmacists are highly respected in health care but face challenges, such as limited scope of practice, regulatory barriers, and insufficient recognition, compounded by social norms that hinder their full potential. This paper presents compelling evidence that pharmacist-led interventions improve blood pressure control, lower cardiovascular risk, and reduce health care costs.

Hotspot-based integrated serosurveillance of neglected tropical diseases, malaria, and vaccine-preventable diseases in urban Guyana

Objective

To assess exposure to lymphatic filariasis (LF), other neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), and malaria, as well as seroprotection against vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs), using a hotspot-based integrated serosurveillance approach in urban areas of Guyana. 

Preparedness for the emerging risk of yellow fever in the Americas

Yellow fever is a viral zoonosis of variable geographic distribution in the Americas. With no specific treatment for this vector-borne disease, vaccination is the best prevention available. This flavivirus has been circulating in the Americas since the late 15th century, and over the past decades, the virus has reemerged and is now endemic in 13 countries in South and Central America. Ecosystem changes may have had a role in this reemergence.

Chikungunya surge in the Americas since late 2025: A call to strengthen surveillance and response capacities

9 MARCH 2026, WASHINGTON, D.C. — Between late 2025 and the first weeks of 2026, a sustained increase in chikungunya cases has been observed in several countries and territories of the Americas Region, along with the reemergence of autochthonous transmission in areas that had not reported virus circulation for several years. This pattern reinforces the need for countries to maintain strong surveillance and ensure a timely response. [...]

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