Guatemala
Map of Guatemala
Overview
The collaboration between Guatemala’s Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (MPHSA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was initiated in 2006 to establish the International Emerging Infections Program (IEIP) in Guatemala. Based in Guatemala City and headquartered on the campus of the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG), the IEIP-Guatemala is part of a long-standing public health collaboration beginning with the Medical Entomology Research and Training Unit/Guatemala (MERTU/G). MERTU/G was established in 1978 under a tripartite agreement with the UVG, the Guatemalan Ministry of Health, and the Division of Parasitic Diseases at CDC. IEIP-Guatemala has a defined mission to strengthen capacity to identify and control emerging infections of regional and global significance. To fulfill this mission, IEIP-Guatemala focuses on the five core IEIP pillars of activity – surveillance, outbreak support, research, training, and networking.
Selected Activities
Population-based surveillance for emerging infections and disease syndromes of regional importance
IEIP-Guatemala conducts active, population-based surveillance for diarrhea, respiratory disease (influenza-like illnesses [ILI], pneumonia and other severe lower respiratory diseases), unspecified febrile illness and acute neurological illness in the Department of Santa Rosa (population 308,500) in Guatemala. Surveillance for cases is conducted at the National Hospital of Cuilapa, the Nueva Santa Rosa Health Center and associated health posts in the Department. An etiology study allows estimation of the incidence of pathogen-specific outcomes, including both common causes (e.g., influenza, RSV) and new or emerging diseases (e.g., melioidosis, bocavirus); testing is performed in the laboratories of the National Hospital of Cuilapa, the Guatemalan National Laboratory, UVG and laboratories at CDC in Atlanta, GA and Fort Collins, CO.
Diagnostic and epidemiologic support for outbreak investigations
IEIP-Guatemala serves as a resource for regional governments in investigating and controlling outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases. Such support includes reference laboratory diagnostic work by CDC scientists and epidemiological consultations and assistance by IEIP-Guatemala or other staff. Recent investigations centered on diethyl glycol contamination in Panama and an influenza illness cluster in Honduras.
Conducting public health research on emerging infectious diseases
IEIP-Guatemala, in collaboration with other programs such as the Field Epidemiology Training Program, engages in public health research activities which include a study investigating the etiologies of pneumonia, diarrheal disease, unspecified febrile illness, and acute neurologic illness. Additionally, a recent healthcare utilization survey provided a foundation for determining appropriate methodology to be employed in population-based surveillance.
For updates on the IEIP in Guatemala, please browse current and past newsletters.
Page last modified: June 2, 2008