One Health Priorities: Advancing Veterinary Public Health in Latin America and the Caribbean.

One Health (OH) is an integrative approach to human, animal, and environmental health and can be used as a comprehensive indicator for comparative purposes. Although an OH index has been proposed for comparing cities, states, and countries, to date, no practical study has compared countries using this approach. Accordingly, this study aimed to assess OH initiatives using a survey with a veterinary public health focus.

From the Approach to the Concept: One Health in Latin America-Experiences and Perspectives in Brazil, Chile, and Colombia.

Professionals throughout the world have been working to assess the interdisciplinary interaction and interdependence between health and wellbeing in a constantly changing environment. The One Health concept was developed to encourage sustainable collaborative partnerships and to promote optimal health for people, animals, plants, the environment, and the whole planet. The dissemination of scientific discoveries and policies, by working directly with diverse communities, has been one of the main goals for Global One Health.

Is Colombia reaching the goals on infant immunization coverage? A quantitative survey from 80 municipalities.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the coverage of the Colombian Expanded Program on Immunization among children less than 6years old, to evaluate the timeliness of immunization, to assess the coverage of newly introduced vaccines, and to identify factors associated with lack of immunization.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey in 80 municipalities of Colombia, using a two-stage cluster random sampling. We attempted to contact all children less than 6years old living in the sampled blocks, and asked their caregivers to provide immunization record cards.

[Impact assessment of the rotavirus vaccine in Colombia using rapid evaluation methods].

Objective: Estimate the effectiveness of the monovalent rotavirus vaccine in preventing the need to hospitalize children under 2 years old for acute diarrheal disease in five Colombian cities.

Methods: A population survey was conducted based on a probability sample of children over 2 months and under 24 months of age in five Colombian cities (Barranquilla, Bogotá, Cali, Cartagena, and Riohacha) over the period from August through October 2010. The vaccine had been introduced in the Expanded Program on Immunization in January 2009.

Setting priorities for surveillance, prevention, and control of zoonoses in Bogotá, Colombia.

Objective: To establish priorities for zoonoses surveillance, prevention, and control in Bogotá, Colombia.

Methods: A Delphi panel of experts in veterinary and human medicine was conducted using a validated prioritization method to assess the importance of 32 selected zoonoses. This exercise was complemented by a questionnaire survey, using the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) methodology, administered in 19 districts of Bogotá from September 2009 to April 2010 to an at-risk population (workers at veterinary clinics; pet shops; butcher shops; and traditional food markets that sell poultry, meat, cheese, and eggs).

Risk perception about zoonoses in immigrants and Italian workers in Northwestern Italy.

Objective: To assess factors associated with a low risk perception of zoonoses and to identify the gaps in knowledge about transmission and prevention of zoonoses in immigrant and Italian workers.

Methods: A cross-sectional study with 175 workers in the agro-livestock and agro-food industry in Piemonte, Italy, was carried out. Data were collected with a semi-structured questionnaire based on knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) survey.

[Epidemiological and economic impact of tetanus vaccination in Colombian adults].

Objective: Assess the potential epidemiological and economic impact of vaccinating the over-15 Colombian population against tetanus with a booster dose every 10 years.

Methods: A cost-effectiveness analysis of tetanus vaccination with a booster dose every 10 years was conducted in Colombia and compared with the current strategy (2, 4, 6, 18, and 60 months). Estimates of the burden of disease were based on three official data sources.

[The epidemiology of canine rabies in Colombia].

Objective: An epidemiological-ecological study was carried out on canine rabies in Colombia to describe its tendency and explore the factors associated with its incidence.

Methods: Socio-economic variable data was collected by questionnaire applied to the rabies control programme's regional epidemiology coordinators in each Colombian department. Statistical association analysis was carried out on the 2001-2006 historical epidemiologic data on canine rabies incidence and sources of official national survey figures.

Potential epidemiological and economical impact of two rotavirus vaccines in Colombia.

A complete economic study was carried out to assess the economical impact of two rotavirus vaccine in Colombia. A Markov decision model was built to assess the health outcomes from birth to 24 months of age for three hypothetical cohorts: one unvaccinated, one vaccinated with 2 doses of Rotarix and the third, with 3 doses of Rotateq. Without vaccination, the annual number of medical visits by diarrhea in children under 2 years would be 1,293,159 cases, with 105,378 medical visits and 470 deaths (IC95% 295-560) related to rotavirus.

New approaches for education and training in veterinary public health: the SAPUVET projects.

Continued contact between humans and animals, in combination with the ever-increasing movement of human and animal populations that is one effect of globalization, contributes to the spread of diseases, often with detrimental effects on public health. This has led professionals involved in both animal health and public health to recognize veterinary public health (VPH) as a key area for their activities to address the human-animal interface. Veterinarians, a profession with major involvement in this field, are in need of specific knowledge and skills to prevent and control public-health problems.

[Occupational biological hazard in veterinary medicine: an area for priority interventions].

Veterinary medicine is an activity related to several health hazards; during the last years, studies about the biological hazard associated to animals have been conducted, such hazards represented by the zoonotic diseases and the allergic reactions in exposed workers. Despite its importance, in Colombia the knowledge about the occupational biohazard is scarce, its magnitude is overlooked and in addition a passive attitude from practitioners exists. The few research spaces available and the scattered actions for its prevention, influence directly on the workers' health, on the quality of the services offered and obviously on the quality of life in society.

Guidelines (1988) for training in clinical laboratory management. International Federation of Clinical Chemistry (IFCC) Education Division and International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) Clinical Chemistry Division Commission on Teaching of Clinical Chemistry.

Trainees in laboratory medicine must develop skills in laboratory management. Guidelines are detailed for laboratory staff in training, directors responsible for staff development and professional bodies wishing to generate material appropriate to their needs. The syllabus delineates the knowledge base required and includes laboratory planning and organisation, control of operations, methodology and instrumentation, data management and statistics, financial management, clinical use of tests, communication, personnel management and training, and research and development.

International Federation of Clinical Chemistry (IFCC), Education Division. Guidelines (1988) for training in clinical laboratory management.

Trainees in laboratory medicine must develop skills in laboratory management. Guidelines are detailed for laboratory staff in training, directors responsible for staff development and professional bodies wishing to generate material appropriate to their needs. The syllabus delineates the knowledge base required and includes laboratory planning and organisation, control of operations, methodology and instrumentation, data management and statistics, financial management, clinical use of tests, communication, personnel management and training, and research and development.

Guidelines (1988) for training in clinical laboratory management.

Trainees in laboratory medicine must develop skills in laboratory management. Guidelines are detailed for laboratory staff in training, directors responsible for staff development and professional bodies wishing to generate material appropriate to their needs. The syllabus delineates the knowledge base required and includes laboratory planning and organization, control of operations, methodology and instrumentation, data management and statistics, financial management, clinical use of tests, communication, personnel management and training and research and development.

International Federation of Clinical Chemistry Education Division and International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry Clinical Chemistry Division Commission on Teaching of Clinical Chemistry. Guidelines (1988) for training in clinical laboratory management.

Trainees in laboratory medicine must develop skills in laboratory management. Guidelines are detailed for laboratory staff in training, directors responsible for staff development and professional bodies wishing to generate material appropriate to their needs. The syllabus delineates the knowledge base required and includes laboratory planning and organisation, control of operations, methodology and instrumentation, data management and statistics, financial management, clinical use of tests, communication, personnel management and training, and research and development.