What Does Disease Prevention and Control Mean for Latin America?
When cases of dengue or polio returned to the Americas, there was a bitter lesson for the countries of the region, which PAHO has been repeating indefatigably: Disease prevention and control cannot be neglected. “The program for dengue eradication did not fail. But, after a successful eradication of the vector, there was a relaxation of surveillance and this resulted in reinfestation followed by the introduction of various serotypes of the virus which aggravated the situation,” said Dr. Jorge R. Arias, regional adviser in communicable diseases at PAHO.
