Infectious Diseases in the Americas Region that Are Relevant to the Global Surveillance and Control

The aim of the work was information-analytical assessment of the epidemiological situation on infectious diseases that are potentially or truly dangerous in terms of occurrence of emergencies of sanitary-epidemiological nature in the Region of Americas.

Materials and methods. The study was based on the official reports of the WHO, the Pan American Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the national Ministries of Health, data from the ProMED information portal, the Global Network for the Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases, and published scientific papers.

Results and discussion. By the model of the Americas, regional epidemiological features have been established, including the endemicity (enzooticity) of territories according to the most relevant nosological forms and the intensity of the epidemic process manifestations. It is shown that the main epidemiological risks in the countries of Central, South America and the Caribbean are associated with dengue, Zika, Chikungunya fevers characterized by a wide territorial dissemination and the ability to cause large-scale epidemic outbreaks, in the countries of North America – West Nile fever. Other infections of international concern include: cholera, that twice caused epidemics of imported origin during the seventh pandemic, which changed the structure of world morbidity; plague, manifested in an annual incidence, including with a complication by the pneumonic form, which determines an increased potential danger of anthropogenic spread; malaria, demonstrating an upward trend in morbidity and the number of intra-continental imported cases; yellow fever, characterized by the activation of natural foci and the expansion of the territories of potential pathogen transmission. The data obtained can serve as a basis for assessing the risks of infectious disease introduction from the American Region into safe territories, improving epidemiological forecasting and validity in making managerial decisions when conducting sanitary and anti-epidemic (preventive) measures.

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