Capacidad de respuesta a emergencias epidémicas: recomendaciones para la autoevaluación nacional Response capacity for epidemic emergencies: recommendations for country self-evaluation

• Main Author: Angela Gala
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish; Portuguese
• Published: Pan American Health Organization 2005
• Subjects: epidemiología; brotes de enfermedades; enfermedades transmisibles; vigilancia epidemiológica; notificación de enfermedad; epidemiology; disease outbreaks; communicable diseases; epidemiologic surveillance; disease notification; Medicine; R; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/b1ffca77d9a045c794eaca31cc2ffd81

Communicable diseases that have appeared or reappeared in recent years have demonstrated their great potential for spreading and their capacity to overwhelm a country's resources, causing major emergencies. The recent SARS epidemic showed that only health systems that have been strengthened and that have the response capacity for events of this kind will be able to handle future contingencies. Governments have recognized the need to support initiatives to strengthen their countries' capacities in surveillance, prevention, and the control of emergencies caused by epidemics. This piece identifies essential components that will make it possible to guide the efforts of governments, with the support of the Pan American Health Organization and other international organizations, toward achieving a common goal: establishing for countries warning and epidemic-emergency response systems that are appropriate and effective.