A Chikungunya Outbreak in a Dengue-endemic Region in Rural Northern Coastal Ecuador.

Dengue virus (DENV) reemerged in the Americas in the 1980s and 1990s, whereas chikungunya virus (CHIKV) emerged in 2014. Although CHIKV produced large epidemics from 2014 to 2017, dengue fever has been the prominent arboviral disease identified through passive surveillance, bringing to question the degree to which cases are misdiagnosed. To address this concern, we conducted an active household-based surveillance of arboviral-like illnesses in six rural and remote communities in northern coastal Ecuador from May 2019 to February 2020.

[Helicobacter pylori infection and relationship with endoscopic findings in patients treated at a referral endoscopic center in Panama].

Introduction: Helycobacter pylori (HP) infection is a public health problem in Latin America with a prevalence of infection of up to 70%. There are endoscopic findings associated with the presence of infection, however we do not know the current prevalence in Panama and if the endoscopic findings are related to HP infection.

Objective: To assess the frequency of HP infection in patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and its association with HP infection.

[Socioeconomic factors associated with the illegal purchase of tobacco products in Panama].

Objective:: To characterize the illegal purchase of tobacco products in Panama and the ssocation with sociodemographic and socioeconomic variables.

Materials And Methods:: Study population derived from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) conducted in 2013. The association of sociodemographic and socioeconomic variables with illegal purchase of tobacco products was estimated by means of logistic regression models.

[Quitting smoking and willingness to pay for cessation in Panama].

Objective:: To characterize the desire for cessation and willingness to pay for abandonment therapy.

Materials And Methods:: The data source is the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS). Cessation and willingness to pay were characterized by sociodemographic (SD) and socioeconomic (SE) variables.

Analysis of mortality trends due to cardiovascular diseases in Panama, 2001-2014.

Objective: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are still the leading cause of death worldwide despite the recent decline in mortality rates attributable to CVD in Western Europe and the Americas. The aim of this study is to investigate mortality trends due to ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke in Panama from 2001 to 2014, as well as the mortality differences by sex and age groups.

Methods: Data were obtained from the National Mortality Register.

Indigenous Ethnicity and Low Maternal Education Are Associated with Delayed Diagnosis and Mortality in Infants with Congenital Heart Defects in Panama.

Background: This is the first study in Panama and Central America that has included indigenous populations in an assessment of the association between socioeconomic variables with delayed diagnosis and mortality due to congenital heart defects (CHD).

Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted. A sample calculation was performed and 954 infants born from 2010 to 2014 were randomly selected from clinical records of all Panamanian public health institutions with paediatric cardiologists.

The combined-disk boronic acid test as an accurate strategy for the detection of KPC carbapenemase in Central America.

Introduction: Carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPC) outbreaks may cause a huge economical burden on developing countries. Furthermore, KPC can be challenging to detect. We describe the laboratory strategy for the detection of KPC from 2011 to 2013 in a tertiary care hospital in Central America with approximately 1,000 beds.

Assessment of the Possible Association of Air Pollutants PM10, O3, NO2 With an Increase in Cardiovascular, Respiratory, and Diabetes Mortality in Panama City: A 2003 to 2013 Data Analysis.

In recent years, Panama has experienced a marked economic growth, and this, in turn, has been associated with rapid urban development and degradation of air quality. This study is the first evaluation done in Panama on the association between air pollution and mortality. Our objective was to assess the possible association between monthly levels of PM10, O3, and NO2, and cardiovascular, respiratory, and diabetes mortality, as well as the seasonal variation of mortality in Panama City, Panama.