Models with environmental drivers offer a plausible mechanism for the rapid spread of infectious disease outbreaks in marine organisms.

The first signs of sea star wasting disease (SSWD) epidemic occurred in just few months in 2013 along the entire North American Pacific coast. Disease dynamics did not manifest as the typical travelling wave of reaction-diffusion epidemiological model, suggesting that other environmental factors might have played some role. To help explore how external factors might trigger disease, we built a coupled oceanographic-epidemiological model and contrasted three hypotheses on the influence of temperature on disease transmission and pathogenicity. Models that linked mortality to sea surface temperature gave patterns more consistent with observed data on sea star wasting disease, which suggests that environmental stress could explain why some marine diseases seem to spread so fast and have region-wide impacts on host populations.

The Onchocerciasis Elimination Program for the Americas: a history of partnership.

The decision in 1987 by the pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co. to provide Mectizan (ivermectin) free of charge to river blindness control programs has challenged the international public health community to find effective ways to distribute the drug to rural populations most affected by onchocerciasis. In the Americas, PAHO responded to that challenge by calling for the elimination of all morbidity from onchocerciasis from the Region by the year 2007 through mass distribution of ivermectin. Since 1991, a multinational, multiagency partnership (consisting of PAHO, the endemic countries, nongovernmental development organizations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as academic institutions and funding agencies) has developed the political, financial, and technical support needed to move toward the realization of that goal. This partnership is embodied in the Onchocerciasis Elimination Program for the Americas (OEPA), which is supported by the River Blindness Foundation (RBF) and now by the Carter Center. OEPA was conceived as a means of maintaining a regional initiative to eliminate what is otherwise a low priority disease. Since its inception in 1993, the OEPA has provided more than US$ 2 million in financial, managerial, and technical assistance to stimulate and/or support programs in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Venezuela, so as to take full advantage of the Merck donation. Now halfway into a five-year, US$ 4 million grant provided through the Inter-American Development Bank, the OEPA's capacity to support the regional initiative is assured through 1999.

The onchocerciasis elimination program for the Americas: a history of partnership / Programa de Eliminación de la Oncocercosis para las Américas: historia de solidaridad

The decision in 1987 by the pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co. to provide Mectizan (ivermectin) free of charge to river blindness control programs has challenged the international public health community to find effective ways to distribute the drug to rural populations most affected by onchocerciasis. In the Americas, PAHO responded to that challenge by calling for the elimination of all morbidity from onchocerciasis from the Region by the year 2007 through mass distribution of ivermectin. Since 1991, a multinational, multiagency partnership (consisting of PAHO, the endemic countries, nongovernmental development organizations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as academic institutions and funding agencies) has developed the political, financial, and technical support needed to move toward the realization of that goal. This partnership is embodied in the Onchocerciasis Elimination Program for the Americas (OEPA), which is supported by the River Blindness Foundation (RBF) and now by the Carter Center. OEPA was conceived as a means of maintaining a regional initiative to eliminate what is otherwise a low priority disease. Since its inception in 1993, the OEPA has provided more than US$2 million in financial, managerial, and technical assistance to stimulate and/or support programs in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Venezuela, so as to take full advantage of the Merck donation. Now halfway into a five-year, US$ 4 million grant provided through the Inter-American Development Bank, the OEPA's capacity to support the regional initiative is assured through 1999

La decisión tomada en 1987 por la Merck & Co., fabricante de productos farmacéuticos, de proveer Mectizan® (ivermectina) gratuitamente a los programas de control de la oncocercosis ha obligado a la comunidad sanitaria internacional a buscar formas de distribuir el medicamento a las poblaciones rurales que se ven más afectadas por la enfermedad. En las Américas, la OPS respondió al reto con un llamado a eliminar de la Región toda morbilidad por oncocercosis para el año 2007 mediante la distribución de ivermectina al público. Desde 1991, una alianza multinacional de diversas entidades (la OPS, países con oncocercosis endémica, agencias de desarrollo no gubernamentales, los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades en Atlanta, Georgia, instituciones académicas y agencias de financiamiento) ha generado el apoyo político, económico y técnico necesario para tratar de alcanzar esa meta. Esta alianza está representada por el Programa de Eliminación de la Oncocercosis en las Américas (OEPA), subvencionado por la Fundación Ceguera de los Ríos y actualmente por el Centro Carter. El OEPA se creó como iniciativa de alcance regional destinada a eliminar una enfermedad que no merece atención prioritaria. Desde su aparición en 1993, el OEPA ha aportado más de US$ 2 millones en ayuda económica, administrativa y técnica para fomentar y subvencionar programas en Brasil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, México y Venezuela, logrando así aprovechar al máximo la donación de la Merck & Co. Ahora que hemos llegado a la mitad de una subvención de 5 años y US$ 4 millones aportada por el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, se sabe que el OEPA tiene la capacidad para apoyar la iniciativa regional hasta fines de 1999

A regional survey of intravenous therapy practices.

In this article, the authors share the results of a survey developed by a group of nurses in a 400-bed community hospital and distributed to 25 health care agencies throughout the northeastern New York region. The survey is comprised of six major categories, with questions pertaining to flushing and dressing protocols, types of vascular access devices used, and the availability of equipment and resources. Sixty percent of the agencies responded, including hospital, home care, hospice, and physician office settings. Major findings identified a lack of consistency in flushing and dressing protocols and in the types of equipment used. Implications for future practice will be presented along with the results of the survey.