Antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance is considered one of the most serious threats to public health worldwide, with the potential to affect anyone, at any age and in any country. Without coordinated and urgent action from all stakeholders, the world is heading towards a post-antibiotic era in which common infections that have been treated effectively for decades can be difficult and expensive to treat. In addition, antimicrobial resistance has a serious impact on the economic development of countries, including agriculture and livestock.

Risk of Zika virus-associated birth defects in congenital confirmed cases in the Brazilian Amazon

Objective.

To establish the risk of microcephaly in neonates born to women infected with ZIKV during pregnancy.

Methods.

A cohort of laboratory-confirmed ZIKV cases of congenital infections (109 mothers infected during pregnancy and 101 newborns) among 308 suspect cases was followed in Belem, Pará, Brazil, from October 2015 to December 2017.

Recommendations for reopening elective surgery services during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Given the uncertainty that accompanies the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the need to respond to multiple chronic and acute health problems affecting the general population, including those requiring surgical intervention, the recommendations implemented in clinics and hospitals in Colombia are presented as a guide to achieve a reopening of elective surgery services in a safe, staggered and monitored manner in accordance with the

Health and social inequalities in maternal and child health in Paraguay

Objective.

To describe health and social inequalities in maternal and child health indicators defined in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.1 and SDG 3.2 targets based on administrative data among the departments of Paraguay in 2017.

Methods.

Quantitative descriptive study with ecological design. Simple gap measures and complex gradient measures based on the adjustment of negative binomial and logistic regression models were used.

Educational strategies for human resources in home health care: 8 years’ experience from Brazil

Objective.

To analyze characteristics, enrollments and completion rates of healthcare professionals enrolled in Self-Instructional Online Courses of the Home Health Care Multicentre Qualification Program, developed by the Ministry of Health and the Universidade Aberta do SUS (UNASUS), and its relationship with Home Health Care Teams implementation.

Bottlenecks and barriers to effective coverage of early childhood health and development interventions in Guatemala: A scoping review

Objectives.

To identify bottlenecks and barriers to effective coverage by Early Childhood Health and Development (ECHD) interventions in Guatemala.

Methods.

A scoping review of more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, grey literature, and other academic publications was conducted. Articles published from 2005-2019 were considered. Results were analyzed using the Tanahashi model of effective coverage that categorizes coverage by five domains: availability, accessibility, acceptability, contact, and effective coverage.

Epidemic trends, public health response and health system capacity: the Chilean experience in four months of the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives.

To report the surveillance of COVID-19 pandemic in Chile and analyse the response to public health interventions implemented from 3 March to 30 June 2020 and to assess the risks of collapse of the health care system.

Methods.

We analysed the effective reproductive number, underreporting of cases, burden of critical beds, case fatality ratio and number of diagnostic RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2.

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