Malaria in Southern Venezuela: The hottest hotspot in Latin America

Malaria elimination in Latin America is becoming an elusive goal. Malaria cases reached a historical ~1 million in 2017 and 2018, with Venezuela contributing 53% and 51% of those cases, respectively. Historically, malaria incidence in southern Venezuela has accounted for most of the country's total number of cases. The efficient deployment of disease prevention measures and prediction of disease spread to new regions requires an in-depth understanding of spatial heterogeneity on malaria transmission dynamics. Herein, we characterized the spatial epidemiology of malaria in southern Venezuela from 2007 through 2017 and described the extent to which malaria distribution has changed country-wide over the recent years. We found that disease transmission was focal and more prevalent in the southeast region of southern Venezuela where two persistent hotspots of Plasmodium vivax (76%) and P. falciparum (18%) accounted for ~60% of the total number of cases. Such hotspots are linked to deforestation as a consequence of illegal gold mining activities. Incidence has increased nearly tenfold over the last decade, showing an explosive epidemic growth due to a significant lack of disease control programs. Our findings highlight the importance of spatially oriented interventions to contain the ongoing malaria epidemic in Venezuela. This work also provides baseline epidemiological data to assess cross-border malaria dynamics and advocates for innovative control efforts in the Latin American region.

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The Influence of Government Effectiveness and Corruption on the High Levels of Homicide in Latin America

Social Sciences ◽

10.3390/socsci10050172 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 172

Author(s):

Spencer P. Chainey ◽

Gonzalo Croci ◽

Laura Juliana Rodriguez Forero

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Latin America ◽

Latin American ◽

International Variation ◽

Government Effectiveness ◽

Latin American Region ◽

Socio Economic Development ◽

Structural Variables ◽

The Relationship ◽

Latin America Region

Most research that has examined the international variation in homicide levels has focused on structural variables, with the suggestion that socio-economic development operates as a cure for violence. In Latin America, development has occurred, but high homicide levels remain, suggesting the involvement of other influencing factors. We posit that government effectiveness and corruption control may contribute to explaining the variation in homicide levels, and in particular in the Latin America region. Our results show that social and economic structural variables are useful but are not conclusive in explaining the variation in homicide levels and that the relationship between homicide, government effectiveness, and corruption control was significant and highly pronounced for countries in the Latin American region. The findings highlight the importance of supporting institutions in improving their effectiveness in Latin America so that reductions in homicide (and improvements in citizen security in general) can be achieved.

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COVID-19 Prevention Measures Implemented by Tennis Coaches: The Role of Continent, Experience, and Type of Facility

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph182312679 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (23) ◽

pp. 12679

Author(s):

Rafael Martínez-Gallego ◽

Juan Pedro Fuentes-García ◽

Miguel Crespo

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Hand Hygiene ◽

Latin American ◽

Ad Hoc ◽

Preventive Strategies ◽

Prevention Measures ◽

Prevention Strategies ◽

Public Facilities ◽

National Organizations

The prevention strategies used by tennis coaches when delivering tennis lessons during the COVID-19 pandemic were analyzed in this study. An ad hoc questionnaire collected data from 655 Spanish and Portuguese speaking tennis coaches working in Latin America and Europe. Differences in the prevention measures were analyzed according to the continent, the coaches’ experience, and the type of facility they worked in. Results showed that coaches used information provided from local and national organizations more than from international ones. Hand hygiene, communication of preventive strategies, and changes in the coaching methodology were the most used prevention measures. Latin American coaches and those working in public facilities implemented the measures more often than their European colleagues or those working in private venues. Finally, more experienced coaches showed a greater awareness of the adoption of the measures than their less experienced counterparts. The data provided by this research may assist in developing new specific guidelines, protocols, and interventions to help better understand the daily delivery of tennis coaching in this challenging context.

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The First Complete Genome Sequences of Hepatitis C Virus Subtype 2b from Latin America: Molecular Characterization and Phylogeographic Analysis

Proceedings ◽

10.3390/proceedings2020050121 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 121

Author(s):

Natália Spitz ◽

José J. Barros ◽

Kycia M. do Ó ◽

Carlos E. Brandão-Mello ◽

Natalia M. Araujo

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

Latin American ◽

Complete Genome ◽

Direct Sequencing ◽

Epidemiological Data ◽

National Prevalence ◽

Latin American Countries ◽

Virus Subtype

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) has remarkable genetic diversity and exists as eight genotypes (1 to 8) with distinct geographic distributions. No complete genome sequence of HCV subtype 2b (HCV-2b) is available from Latin American countries, and the factors underlying its emergence and spread within the continent remain unknown. The present study was conducted to determine the first full-length genomic sequences of HCV-2b isolates from Latin America and reconstruct the spatial and temporal diversification of this subtype in Brazil. Nearly complete HCV-2b genomes isolated from two Brazilian patients were obtained by direct sequencing of long PCR fragments and analyzed together with reference sequences using the Bayesian coalescent and phylogeographic framework approaches. The two HCV-2b genomes were 9318 nucleotides (nt) in length (nt 37–9354). Interestingly, the long RT-PCR technique was able to detect the co-circulation of viral variants that contained an in-frame deletion of 2022 nt, encompassing E1, E2, and p7 proteins. Spatiotemporal reconstruction analyses suggest that HCV-2b had a single introduction in Brazil during the early 1980s, displaying an epidemic history characterized by a low and virtually constant population size to date. These results coincide with epidemiological data in Brazil and may explain the low national prevalence of this subtype.

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Part II Investor-State Arbitration in the Energy Sector, 13 Energy Investor-State Disputes in Latin America

10.1093/law/9780198805786.003.0013 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Romero Eduardo Silva

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Latin American ◽

Energy Sector ◽

Historical Background ◽

The Political ◽

Foreign Companies ◽

Private Interests ◽

American States ◽

Resource Nationalism ◽

Latin American Region

This chapter discusses the recent resurgence of ‘resource nationalism’ in the Latin American region. These include the shift in the political and economic control of the energy sector from foreign, private interests to domestic, state-controlled companies and the disputes this has triggered. After looking at the historical background of investor-state arbitration in Latin America, the chapter analyzes relevant strategies used by investors and states to defend their standpoint on resource nationalism. It also identifies which ones have proved most successful in relation to fiscal measures and nationalizations by certain Latin American states. The chapter also provides an assessment of corporate restructuring strategies used by foreign companies to challenge these types of resource nationalism measures.

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Skyscrapers in Santiago: 300 meters of globalization agenda

Journal of Property Investment and Finance ◽

10.1108/jpif-05-2016-0032 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 35 (5) ◽

pp. 439-454

Author(s):

Nestor Garza

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Latin American ◽

Small Sample ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Main Determinant ◽

Content Type ◽

Latin American Region ◽

Quantitative Results ◽

The One

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess alternative economic explanations of buildings’ height in Latin America and Chile, inductively producing a theory about skyscrapers’ height in emerging countries. In the quest for height, global exposure as advertising guides developers located in emerging economies, while ego-building for investors. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses mixed methods triangulation (MMT). Findings with small sample econometrics for 38 cities from 13 different countries are re-interpreted by linguistically analyzing 11 semi-structured interviews with local experts in Santiago. Findings Globalization is the main determinant of skyscrapers height in the Latin American region, its interaction with the need to portray management and technical skills of developer firms, determines a process toward over-construction. Research limitations/implications Because of small sample bias, the quantitative results are not fully reliable, but this is precisely why it makes sense to use MMT. Practical implications Santiago offers a valuable case study because, on the one hand, Chile was the first Latin American country to undertake neoliberal type reforms, as early as 1973. On the other, the tallest Latin American skyscraper is to be completed in this city by 2015. The theory developed, derived from the evidence and the perceptions, has a Global South reach and can open-up an empirical research agenda. Originality/value This paper innovates in real estate research by using MMT, not just to confirm quantitative findings, but as an inductive theory building tool. It also analyses Latin America, a region with scarce presence in the literature.

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Bringing Policymakers to Science Through Communication: A Perspective From Latin America

Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics ◽

10.3389/frma.2021.654191 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Author(s):

Marta Pulido-Salgado ◽

Fátima Antonethe Castaneda Mena

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Latin America ◽

Endangered Species ◽

Latin American ◽

Scientific Knowledge ◽

Science Communication ◽

Natural World ◽

Science Museums ◽

Latin American Region ◽

Science Stories

Scientific knowledge should be shared beyond academic circles in order to promote science in policymaking. Science communication increases the understanding of how the natural world works and the capacity to make informed decisions. However, not every researcher has the ability to master the art of communicating, and even less in a clear, concise, and easy to understand language that society representatives appreciate. Within the huge and extraordinarily diverse Latin American region, science communication has been going on for at least 200 years, when the first science stories appeared in the newspapers, as well as the first science museums and botanical gardens were founded. Nevertheless, resources are limited, and notably time, which researchers spend mostly in mentoring, ensuring funding, publication of their results and laboratory work, while science journalists are an endangered species. This perspective article aims at providing some recommendations to build bridges between science and decision-making parties through communication, by exploring how Latin American diplomats and policymakers engage with scientific knowledge.

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Estado del arte de la psicología en emergencias y desastres en Chile y América Latina. / State of the art of psychology in emergencies and disasters in Chile and Latin America.

Revista Liminales. Escritos sobre Psicología y Sociedad ◽

10.54255/lim.vol2.num03.232 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2 (03) ◽

pp. 123-142

Author(s):

Claudio Barrales ◽

Humberto Marín ◽

Rodrigo Molina

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Human Behavior ◽

Latin American ◽

Special Interest ◽

Normal Development ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Current Status ◽

Latin American Region ◽

America Latina ◽

Development And Evolution

Especial interés ha causado en los últimos años el desarrollo de técnicas relacionadas con el estudio del comportamiento humano antes, durante y después de emergencias y desastres. Este nuevo campo de especialización llamado Psicología de emergencias y desastres ha centrado las miradas, no solo por la ocurrencia de eventos que han demandado su aplicación, sino también por el normal desarrollo y evolución que ha tenido la psicología en nuestro país y el continente. El presente texto trata de dar cuenta del estado de avance y punto de estado actual de esta especialidad dentro de la región latinoamericana. Special interest has caused in recent years the development of techniques related to the study of human behavior before, during and after emergencies and disasters. This new area of expertise called emergency and disaster psychology has focused the eyes, not only by the occurrence of events that have sued their application, but also for the normal development and evolution that has taken psychology in our country and the continent. This article tries to give an account of the progress and current status about this specialty within the Latin American region.

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The distribution of biodiversity richness in the tropics

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.abc6228 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (37) ◽

pp. eabc6228 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Peter H. Raven ◽

Roy E. Gereau ◽

Peter B. Phillipson ◽

Cyrille Chatelain ◽

Clinton N. Jenkins ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Latin American ◽

Vascular Plant ◽

Sahara Desert ◽

Tropical Asia ◽

Latin American Region ◽

Afrotropical Region ◽

Tropical Areas ◽

Global Biodiversity ◽

The Tropics

We compare the numbers of vascular plant species in the three major tropical areas. The Afrotropical Region (Africa south of the Sahara Desert plus Madagascar), roughly equal in size to the Latin American Region (Mexico southward), has only 56,451 recorded species (about 170 being added annually), as compared with 118,308 recorded species (about 750 being added annually) in Latin America. Southeast Asia, only a quarter the size of the other two tropical areas, has approximately 50,000 recorded species, with an average of 364 being added annually. Thus, Tropical Asia is likely to be proportionately richest in plant diversity, and for biodiversity in general, for its size. In the animal groups we reviewed, the patterns of species diversity were mostly similar except for mammals and butterflies. Judged from these relationships, Latin America may be home to at least a third of global biodiversity.

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Housing, Urban Development and Health in Latin America: Contrasts, Inequalities and Challenges

Reviews on Environmental Health ◽

10.1515/reveh-2004-19-3-410 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 19 (3-4) ◽

pp. 329-346

Author(s):

Francisco de Assis Comaru ◽

Marcia Faria Westphal

Keyword(s):

Public Policy ◽

Latin America ◽

Latin American ◽

Low Income ◽

Urban Policy ◽

Brazilian Coast ◽

Healthy City ◽

Latin American Region ◽

Environmental Public Policy ◽

Policies And Programs

Abstract Since the outset of the 201 h century, growing urbanization and its contingent waxing populations in Latin America, including Brazil, have come to have alarming effects on the conditions of life, especially in the areas of housing and healthcare for such populations. In this paper, we present data describing and qualifying the process of urbanization and its consequences for Latin American countries and certain Brazilian cities. Arguments are presented about the effects of the urbanization process and the development of low-income human settlements (slums known as favelas and squatting in tenement housing) on health conditions, diseases, and the death rate. The first part of the paper is based on secondary and quantitative data about urbanization, housing, and health in Brazilian and other Latin American cities. Governmental and nongovernmental data are used to structure the problematic landscape of the Latin American region. In the second part of the paper, we focus on a case study of a Brazilian coast city that has registered an intense population growth. This study demonstrates that urban policy (housing, environmental, sanitation, and urban transportation) requires an integration of health and environmental public policy and demonstrates the importance of the role of popular participation in urban public policy-making, and the potential importance of the Bertiioga Healthy City Project from the perspective of a better integration of actions, policies, and programs.

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Patients’ participation in government-sponsored guidelines in Latin America: a cross-sectional study

BMJ evidence-based medicine ◽

10.1136/bmjebm-2020-111530 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. bmjebm-2020-111530

Author(s):

Luis Ignacio Garegnani ◽

Nicolás Meza ◽

Pablo Rosón-Rodriguez ◽

Camila Micaela Escobar-Liquitay ◽

Marcelo Arancibia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Latin American ◽

De Novo ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Hand Search ◽

Latin American Region ◽

Government Websites ◽

Grade Approach

BackgroundIt is recommended that patients actively participate in clinical practice guideline (CPG) development, which allows consideration of their values and preferences and improves adherence to recommendations. The development of CPGs throughout Latin America is variable and diverse, and the inclusion of patients’ participation is unknown.ObjectivesTo evaluate the methods of patients’ participation in government-sponsored CPGs in Latin America, the type of CPG development and the use of Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methods.DesignCross-sectional study. We included CPGs developed over the last 10 years through a comprehensive hand search in official national government websites and biomedical databases.Main outcome measureThe type of patients’ participation was coded according to five predefined categories. We also report the proportion of application of GRADE methods.ResultsWe included 408 CPGs from 10 countries: 74% (n=303) were de novo development, 13%(n=55) used an adaptation method and 10%(n=41) used both adaptation and de novo methods. Only 45% (n=185) applied the GRADE approach, ranging from 14% (n=12) of CPGs in Brazil to 89% (n=56) of CPGs in Colombia. Only 23% (n=95) of CPGs included at least one method of patients’ participation. Mexico was one of the largest CPG producers (100 CPGs), but none included methods of patients’ participation; in turn, in countries with lower production of government-sponsored CPGs, patients’ participation was found in almost 88%. Guidelines using the GRADE approach were more likely to use methods of patients’ participation. These methods were highly variable: 46% (n=44) incorporated patients in the panel, 81% (n=77) searched for evidence about patients’ values and preferences, 43% (n=39) used an external review of the draft recommendations by patients, 38% (n=36) used public comments, and 2% included other methods for stakeholders’ participation.ConclusionOnly one quarter of government-sponsored CPGs in the Latin American region incorporated a method for patients’ participation, which varied considerably across the selected countries. These findings highlight the need to improve CPG development methods to systematically incorporate patients’ values and preferences when drafting recommendations.

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