Gestational and congenital syphilis epidemic in the Colombian Pacific Coast.

Background: Congenital syphilis (CS) is a major global public health problem. Buenaventura, a socioeconomically deprived municipality in the Colombian Pacific Coast, accounts for 6.6% of all CS cases in Colombia.

[Initial drug resistance as a threat for tuberculosis control: the case of Buenaventura, Colombia].

In 2001, Buenaventura, Colombia, the rate of smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis was of 66 per 100,000 inhabitants. The poor control of the tuberculosis in this city during the last 10 years and the inadequate use of first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs was an opportune situation for the development of high resistance to these drugs. Two surveys of initial resistance to first-line antituberculosis drugs were conducted in new cases of pulmonary TB, in the city of Buenaventura--the first from August 1, of 1997 to January 31 of 1998 and the second from November 15, of 2000 to November 15, 2001.