Tag Archives: Honduras

A Comprehensive Analysis of Soil-Transmitted Helminths in Honduras

Latin America and the Caribbean, NTDs, Soil Transmitted Helminths (STH)

 

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Honduras became the first country in Latin America and the Caribbean to launch its national and integrated plan addressing neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in April 2012; however, information gaps regarding the prevalence and intensity of soil-transmitted helminth (STH or intestinal worm) infections remained. The first comprehensive historic review of soil-STH prevalence and research studies done in Honduras was recently published – the information analyzed and presented in the new article will be instrumental in the successful implementation of the country’s national plan on NTDs.

The article, titled “A Scoping Review and Prevalence Analysis of Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections in Honduras,” was published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Sabin Vaccine Institute’s Dr. Maria Elena Bottazzi, herself a Honduran and Deputy Director of Sabin’s Product Development Partnership, is one of the authors.

As part of their efforts, the researchers conducted a review of hundreds of studies dating back to May 1930, some of which had not been published. Using studies published between 2001 and 2012 that included epidemiological data from Honduras’ 18 departments, the researchers were able to produce STH prevalence maps. The researchers included the most recent information available after consulting with various groups involved in STH control activities, including the Ministry of Health, the Healthy Schools Program, the Parasitology Department of the School of Microbiology (part of the National Autonomous University of Honduras, UNAH), the World Food Program and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

The results from their review are astounding – the researchers found that the prevalence of STH in 40.6 percent of the municipalities in Honduras is greater than 50 percent. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends mass drug administration (MDA) campaigns to take place, without previous diagnosis, once a year in communities with STH prevalence over 20 percent, and twice a year in communities with STH prevalence over 50 percent. This strategy not only reduces the morbidity and the intensity of infection on those already infected with this NTD, but it also helps protect the entire community from further infection.

The researchers also found that the STH prevalence was higher in municipalities with a lower socioeconomic status – those characterized by having a lower human development index and less access to safe drinking water or improved sanitation.

The Sabin Vaccine Institute’s Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases recently traveled to Honduras and witnessed the effects of intestinal worms on some of Honduras’ poorest communities, including those in the department of Choluteca. After speaking with a head teacher at Escuela Urbana Mixta Pedro Nufio (1st to 6th grade), we learned that 880 students attending the school were at risk for intestinal worms.

View photos from the trip below:

Children in Choluteca and across Honduras are being treated annually for intestinal worms thanks to Honduras’ national plan of action against NTDs. However, many children are still heavily infected. For example, some students in Choluteca expelled worms through their mouth and nose after receiving treatment – a sign of heavy infection.

However, progress is being made and the deworming of preschool children has been institutionalized as part of national vaccination week activities in the country.  Honduras is continuing to lead in one of the fundamental components in the fight against NTDs: integration with infrastructure improvements in water and sanitation, supported by community education campaigns. This type of cross-sectoral integration will bring us closer to achieving the NTD 2020 control and elimination goals set by the WHO Roadmap.

We look forward to sharing stories of how the government of Honduras and its partners use the findings from this study to successfully implement their national plan on NTDs! We invite you to follow Dr. Bottazzi () and the PLOS NTDs journal () on Twitter, to keep up with new developments in the NTD field.

Honoring the Moms who Keep us Healthy

Maternal Health, ,

 

This Sunday is Mother’s Day, and in honor of this important holiday, moms around the world will be showered with gifts and appreciation for their love and tireless work. But shouldn’t mothers be honored every day? Moms feed us, encourage us and care for our health before we’re even aware of its value.

This past week, I had the fortunate opportunity to meet several moms during my trip to Honduras with the END7 campaign. At health clinics in Tegucigalpa, El Triunfo and Marcovia, I saw moms who were placing their children’s health above all else. Despite the lengthy lines, the 95 degree heat and the long walks to the local clinics, these moms were determined to provide their children with the much-needed deworming medicine that rids their bodies of harmful parasitic worms.

I saw mothers soothing their children as they struggled to swallow the deworming medicine.

Child receiving medicine

I saw mothers laughing and smiling with their children – celebrating their health.

mother and child smiling

And I saw mothers who were proud – holding their children up for the rest of the clinics’ visitors to see.

mother holding baby

The children and mothers I met in Honduras were happy and thriving because of the deworming medicine and vaccines provided to them by local health clinics. Treating NTDs can positively impact the health of mothers and their children by reducing anemia, improving nutrition and strengthening a mother or child’s immune system so they are able to fight off other diseases. But without deworming medicine, mothers and their children are susceptible to a variety of health complications and a poor, unfulfilled quality of life.

So this Mother’s Day, take a moment to thank you mom for all she’s done to keep you healthy, and take another for moms around the world who are contributing to the fight against NTDs.

Update from Vaccination Week: Highlighting Honduras’ Integrated Approach to Health

integration, Latin America and the Caribbean,

 

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By Karen Palacio and Alex Gordon

This afternoon, hordes of journalists and TV newscasters huddled around one small toddler, creating a semi-circle two rows deep as they waited in anticipation. Moments later, the toddler opened her mouth and received deworming medicine — a simple but life changing act that on any other day may go unnoticed.

But today was different. In honor of Vaccination Week in the Americas (VWA), Members from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Ministry of Health of Honduras, and representatives from the Office of the President of Honduras, hosted a high-profile ceremony, highlighting the importance of vaccination, deworming and the integrated delivery of other health interventions.

Panelists at Honduras’ 2014 Vaccination campaign launch in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. From left to right: Dr. Karina Silva, local health department, Dr. Ida Molina, EPI Program Manager, Ministry of Health Honduras, Mr. Ricardo Alvarez, Representative from President Hernandez’s office, Dr. Yolani Batres, Minister of Health, Dr. Jon Andrus, PAHO Deputy Director, Dr. Alma Fabiola Morales, PAHO Honduras, and Dr. German Laborel, Representative from the faith-based community

Panelists at Honduras’ 2014 Vaccination campaign launch in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. From left to right: Dr. Karina Silva, local health department, Dr. Ida Molina, EPI Program Manager, Ministry of Health Honduras, Mr. Ricardo Alvarez, Representative from President Hernandez’s office, Dr. Yolani Batres, Minister of Health, Dr. Jon Andrus, PAHO Deputy Director, Dr. Alma Fabiola Morales, PAHO Honduras, and Dr. German Laborel, Representative from the faith-based community.

As Dr. Mirta Roses Periago mentioned in her previous blog post, VWA provides a much-needed platform to celebrate, showcase and implement the public health interventions that save lives and keep children and families thriving.

In Honduras, the ceremony that launched the two week campaign began with a prayer led by Padre Pablo Hernandez and the country’s national anthem.

Next, Dr. Ida Berenice Molina, head of Honduras’ Extended Program for Immunization (EPI) program, delivered remarks on the 12th anniversary of Vaccination Week of the Americas and Honduras’ consistent and impressive coverage rate of over 90 perecent for vaccinations since 1991.

Following Dr. Molina, Dr. Jon Andrus, Deputy Director of PAHO, highlighted the importance of the integration of vaccination and other health interventions such as deworming. This year’s slogan, “Vaccination, Your Best Shot” was selected as the call to action in the context of this year’s upcoming World Cup in Brazil. It is estimated that more than 63 million people in 180 countries and territories in the Americas will be vaccinated over the next two weeks.

Dr. Andrus also highlighted the opportunity that Vaccination Week offers to deliver other critical interventions such as deworming, Vitamin A, health education and lactation consultation, among others.

Historically, Honduras has been one of Latin America’s leaders in health and integration. In addition to holding high vaccination rates, Honduras was also the first country in the Americas to launch a national plan of action against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in 2012. After the plan’s launch, Honduras quickly began a demonstration project that expanded deworming to preschool children as part of vaccination week in six municipalities.

Now, two years later, the deworming of preschool children has been institutionalized as part of national vaccination week activities. This compliments the national campaign for school age children which is implemented in coordination with World Food Programme, UNICEF, Operation Blessing and other stakeholders.

Continuing with the presentations, Dr. Ricardo Alvarez, a representative from President Juan Orlando Hernandez’s office gave remarks on the political commitment to saving lives through vaccine preventable diseases and essential medicines that prevent and control NTDs.

And lastly, Dr. Edna Yolani Batres from the ministry of health remarked that VWA offers some of the best investments in public health. She called on partners to continue to join the Ministry of Health of Honduras in assuring the quality of life of millions of Honduran children and families continue to be improved through the services provided during Vaccination Week.

The speeches and presentations were followed by a series of vaccinations and the provision of deworming medicine and vitamin A supplementation. Members from PAHO and the Ministry of Health ceremoniously aided in the delivery of the health interventions as crowds gathered to watch babies, toddles, and pregnant mothers receive vaccines, deworming medicine and vitamins.

We were extremely happy to see these cost-effective health interventions and the nurses and doctors delivering them, receiving the attention they deserve. Through an integrated approach to public health, Honduras is providing smart opportunities for its population to remain healthy and thriving.

 

Kicking Off World Immunization Week with a Honduran Celebration

Latin America and the Caribbean, ,

 

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This post was originally published on the Sabin Vaccine Institute’s blog as part of their World Immunization Week blog series. 

Honduras will kick off Vaccination Week in the Americas (VWA) today with a day-long ceremony highlighting the importance of vaccines and other health interventions like deworming and vitamin A supplementation in improving health. The Honduras ceremony, taking place on Monday the 28th in Tegucigalpa, will run alongside World Immunization Week.

VWA represents a unique opportunity to deliver vaccines and other life-saving health interventions to those who need them most. Deworming, vitamin A supplementation, screenings for diabetes, Body Mass Index and blood pressure measurement, will all occur under the umbrella of VWA. In addition, VWA will serve as a platform for civil registration of children in remote communities, sexual and reproductive health education, and delivery of medical and dental care to out-of-regular access groups, among others.

In addition to partners from PAHO, UNICEF, GAVI and the government of Honduras, Sabin will be attending the VWA launch event to further promote vaccines, deworming, and a holistic, integrated approach to ensuring good health and well being.

Because Sabin’s Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases focuses on mass drug administration for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) like intestinal worms, the integration of deworming into VWA is of particular importance. The benefits of controlling intestinal worms through deworming extend to better health, better growth, better learning, and better earning.

The inclusion of deworming as part of VWA – and even more – as part of the regular schedule of vaccines –is extremely cost-effective. All children at risk for intestinal worms at the national level could receive treatment at almost no additional cost. Nurses and community health workers who give children their shots can easily administer deworming pills to these children during these scheduled immunization campaigns.

Additionally, treating intestinal worms helps make other interventions more effective, since the bodies and immune systems of children free of parasites are better prepared to benefit from nutrition, health care and immunizations.

In Honduras, more than a million school-aged children are at risk for intestinal worms and the prevalence of intestinal worms is estimated to be greater than 50 percent in almost half the municipalities. Countries like Honduras have a lot to gain from integrating deworming into regular vaccination programs. This is an effective solution that will boost economic potential and the health of the country’s population.

The integrated delivery package in Honduras’ Vaccination Week in the Americas (launch) is an excellent example for how vaccination and deworming can work together to provide better health for all. We’re looking forward to promoting and participating in such an important event and we encourage other countries to follow the example.

Social Media: For a recap on today’s events, check out the Global Network blog later tonight, 4/28, and follow along with the hashtag #VWALaunch.