New PAHO Deputy Director presents organization’s priorities
Friday, October 13, 2023 – 09:47 UTC
Sealey-Thomas emphasized that collective efforts are “the engine that drives the building of healthier, more resilient and fairer societies across the Americas.”
Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Deputy Director Rhonda Sealey-Thomas of Antigua and Barbuda said this Thursday that pandemics include non-communicable diseases, climate change, the capacity of resilient health systems and the urgent need to strengthen preparedness and response among the region’s greatest health challenges.
“It is my wish that during my term in office we will work even more unitedly as a region, in line with the value of solidarity,” Sealey-Thomas added at the swearing-in.
The official emphasized that collective efforts are “the engine that advances the building of healthier, more resilient and more equitable societies across America.”
Sealey-Thomas will also be responsible for, among other things, leading the communicable disease prevention, control and elimination departments; Social and environmental determinants of health equity; health systems and services; and innovation, access to medicines and health technologies.
He will also direct the Pan American Center for Foot and Mouth Disease and Veterinary Public Health; the Latin American Center for Perinatology, Women and Reproductive Health; and the Latin American and Caribbean Center for Health Sciences Information.
Meanwhile, Argentine health authorities announced this week that the new dengue vaccine developed in Japan will be available next month. Manufactured by Takeda laboratories, it provides protection against the four serotypes of the disease.
It can be given – with a prior doctor’s prescription – to people aged 4 and over, regardless of whether they have previously suffered from dengue fever or not. It consists of 2 doses given 3 months apart and reduces 84% of hospitalizations and 61% of symptomatic cases of dengue.
The vaccine was approved by the National Administration of Medicines, Food and Medical Technology (ANMAT) in April. In 2023, more than 130,000 cases were registered nationwide. The medicine prevents dengue fever, which is caused by one of the four existing serotypes of this virus and usually leads to more serious cases when a person is bitten by mosquitoes with two different serotypes.
The Aedes Aegypti mosquito that transmits the disease can survive in colder climates than previously thought due to climate change and urbanization, meaning the virus can move further south, although the vaccine was originally intended for regions with high dengue burdens and high transmission rate.
The vaccine consists of live weakened viruses and was developed from dengue serotype 2, which provides the genetic basis for protection against the four serotypes and “activates multiple arms of the immune system that help protect against infection and disease.” “ it was explained.
The main symptoms of dengue include acute, nonspecific fever symptoms, severe headaches, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain, sometimes diarrhea or vomiting, and sometimes skin rashes.
The new vaccine, which should not be given to pregnant or breastfeeding women, has already been approved in the European Union, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Indonesia and Thailand, among others.