Latin America has started to resume normal social and public life at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic still requires major control interventions, World Health Organization regional director Carissa Etienne warned.
Young people are driving the spread of the coronavirus in the Americas, the head of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Tuesday, noting that both deaths and caseloads have doubled in the region over the past six weeks.
The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) is calling on consumers to “Stop, look, choose…the lower salt option” during this year’s World Salt Awareness Week, March 10–16.
Cuba has reported a new cholera outbreak with 163 cases, 12 of whom are tourists, though no deaths were mentioned, according to a bulletin from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO. The update from 23 August is based on information provided by epidemiological authorities on the island.
At least 30% of people in the Americas suffer from hypertension, or high blood pressure, for which excessive dietary salt is the main risk factor. For 1 of 3 people who have hypertension, cutting sodium intake can reduce their blood pressure to normal levels. Reducing dietary salt could also prevent an estimated 25% of heart attacks and strokes worldwide.
An outbreak of dengue fever across much of Latin America has killed 31 people since the start of the year and is showing no sign of relenting. Endemic in several countries there’s growing concern following the discovery of a very “aggressive” strain in Peru.
Venezuelan Health and Social Protection Minister Luis Reyes confirmed 15 cases of Chagas disease in the capital Caracas, following an outbreak in the popular quarters of the city. However Minister Reyes flatly discarded the word “epidemics”.