Address of the First Lady of the Dominican Republic, Dr. Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, on the Elimination of Rubella and Congenital Rubella Syndrome in the Americas
Discurso de la primera Dama de la Republica Dominicana, Dra. Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, sobre la eliminación de la rubéola y del síndrome de rubéola congénita en las Américas
Table of contents
"When Englishman Edward Jenner invented the first vaccine, against
smallpox, no one could imagine what it would mean for humanity as the first
link in a chain of scientific discovery that has prevented the spread of viruses,
controlled epidemics, and eradicated diseases, thus preventing widespread
suffering, sequelae, and deaths...Rubella in the Dominican Republic and other countries of the Americas
is already history; we now have the guarantee that each developing life will be
free from infection with that virus, provided that we maintain surveillance to
prevent its reintroduction while the disease is still present in the Hemisphere
and the rest of the world.
And this is a real challenge, since thanks to the Hemisphere’s
immunization activities, each year we have been able to prevent some 20,000
cases of congenital rubella syndrome in the Americas; if the rubella elimination
activities had not taken place, each infected patient would have represented an
expenditure of roughly US$ 60,000 dollars in direct and indirect costs, not
counting the consequent serious sequelae, such as blindness, deafness, and
heart defects and their impact on families and society as a whole...In this globalized world virtually without borders, the eradication of
endemic diseases cannot be confined to a single country, region, or continent,
but has global dimensions. Thus, it has become increasingly necessary that all
citizens of the world be aware of what not having a vaccine accessible to
everyone who needs it means..."
Subject
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
A rubella serosurvey in postpartum women in the three regions of Peru
Suárez-Ognio, Luis; Adrianzén, Ana; Ortiz, Ana; Martínez, Carlos; Whittembury, Alvaro; Cabezudo, Edwin; Oliveira, Lucia de; Siqueira, Marilda M; Castillo-Solórzano, Carlos (2007) -
Outbreak of rubella after mass vaccination of children and adult women: challenges for rubella elimination strategies
Menegolla, Ivone Andreatta; Bercini, Marilina Assunta; Schermann, Maria Tereza; Nunes, Zenaida Marion Alves; Segatto, Teresa Cristina; Siqueira, Marilda Mendonça; Flannery, Brendan (2011) -
Brazilian experience with rapid monitoring of vaccination coverage during a national rubella elimination campaign
Teixeira, Antonia Maria da Silva; Samad, Samia Abdul; Souza, Marcos Aurélio de; Segatto, Teresa Cristina; Morice, Ana; Flannery, Brendan (2011)