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.