In this case study, we aim to understand how health departments in 5 US jurisdictions addressed health inequities and implemented strategies to reach populations disproportionately affected by COVID-19 during the initial Omicron variant period. We used qualitative methods to examine health department experiences during the initial Omicron surge, from November 2021 to April 2022, assessing successful interventions, barriers, and lessons learned from efforts to promote health equity. Our findings indicate that government leadership supported prioritizing health equity from the beginning of the pandemic, seeing it as a need and vital part of the response framework. All jurisdictions acknowledged the historical trauma and distrust of the government. Health departments found that collaborating and communicating with trusted community leaders helped mitigate public distrust. Having partnerships, resources, and infrastructure in place before the pandemic facilitated the establishment of equity-focused COVID-19 response activities. Finally, misinformation about COVID-19 was a challenge for all jurisdictions. Addressing the needs of diverse populations involves community-informed decisionmaking, diversity of thought, and delivery measures that are tailored to the community. It is imperative to expand efforts to reduce and eliminate health inequities to ensure that individuals and communities recover equitably from the effects of COVID-19.

Anemia affects a third of the world's population and contributes to increased morbidity and mortality, decreased work productivity, and impaired neurological development. Understanding anemia's varied and complex etiology is crucial for developing effective interventions that address the context-specific causes of anemia and for monitoring anemia control programs. We outline definitions and classifications of anemia, describe the biological mechanisms through which anemia develops, and review the variety of conditions that contribute to anemia development. We emphasize the risk factors most prevalent in low- and middle-income countries, including nutritional deficiencies, infection/inflammation, and genetic hemoglobin disorders. Recent work has furthered our understanding of anemia's complex etiology, including the proportion of anemia caused by iron deficiency (ID) and the role of inflammation and infection. Accumulating evidence indicates that the proportion of anemia due to ID differs by population group, geographical setting, infectious disease burden, and the prevalence of other anemia causes. Further research is needed to explore the role of additional nutritional deficiencies, the contribution of infectious and chronic disease, as well as the importance of genetic hemoglobin disorders in certain populations.

Background An outbreak of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), a disorder characterized by acute, symmetric limb weakness with decreased or absent deep-tendon reflexes, was reported in Barranquilla, Colombia, after the introduction of Zika virus in 2015. We reviewed clinical data for GBS cases in Barranquilla and performed a case-control investigation to assess the association of suspect and probable Zika virus disease with GBS. Methods We used the Brighton Collaboration Criteria to confirm reported GBS patients in Barranquilla during October 2015-April 2016. In April 2016, two neighborhood and age range-matched controls were selected for each confirmed GBS case-patient. We obtained demographics and antecedent symptoms in the 2-month period before GBS onset for case-patients and the same period for controls. Sera were collected for Zika virus antibody testing. Suspected Zika virus disease was defined as a history of rash and >= 2 other Zika-related symptoms (fever, arthralgia, myalgia, or conjunctivitis). Probable Zika virus disease was defined as suspected Zika virus disease with laboratory evidence of a recent Zika virus or flavivirus infection. Conditional logistic regression adjusted for sex and race/ethnicity was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results We confirmed 47 GBS cases. Incidence increased with age (10-fold higher in those >= 60 years versus those < 20 years). We interviewed 40 case-patients and 79 controls. There was no significant difference in laboratory evidence of recent Zika virus or flavivirus infection between case-patients and controls (OR: 2.2; 95% CI: 0.9-5.1). GBS was associated with having suspected (OR: 3.0, 95% CI: 1.1-8.6) or probable Zika virus disease (OR: 4.6, CI: 1.1-19.0). Conclusions Older individuals and those with suspected and probable Zika virus disease had higher odds of developing GBS. Key points We confirmed a Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) outbreak in Barranquilla, Colombia, during October 2015-April 2016. A case-control investigation using neighborhood controls showed an association of suspected and probable Zika virus disease with GBS.

Before PCV7 introduction, invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) was responsible for approximately 12,000-18,000 deaths annually among children <5years in Latin America. In Peru, PCV7 was introduced in 2009. We used whole genome sequencing to deduce key features of invasive strains collected in Lima, Peru from 2006 to 2011. We sequenced 212 IPD isolates from 16 hospitals in Lima pre (2006-2009; n=133) and post (2010-2011; n=79) PCV7 introduction; 130 (61.3%) isolates were from children≤5years old. CDC's Streptococcus lab bioinformatics pipeline revealed serotypes, sequence types (STs), pilus genes, PBP types and other resistance determinants. During the pre-PCV7 period, serotype 14 was the most common serotype (24.8%), followed by 6B (20.3%), 19F (10.5%), and 23F (6.8%). Post-PCV7, the proportion of PCV7 serotype 6B decreased significantly (to 6.3%), while 19F (16.3%), 14 (15.0%), 23F (7.5%), and 19A (7.5%) were the most common serotypes; only serotypes 3 and 10A increased significantly. Overall, 82% (n=173) of all isolates carried at least one resistance determinant, including 72 (34%) isolates that carried resistance determinants against 3 or more antimicrobial classes; of these 72 isolates, 56 (78%) belonged to a PCV7 serotype. Eighty-two STs were identified, with 53 of them organized in 14 clonal complexes. ST frequencies were distributed differently pre and post-PCV7 introduction, with only 18 of the 57 STs identified in years 2006-2009 isolates also observed in years 2010-2011 isolates. The apparent expansion of a 19F/ST1421 lineage with predicted β-lactam resistance (PBP type 13:16:20) and carrying resistance determinants against four additional antimicrobial classes was observed.

We report the results of pathologic examinations of 2 fetuses from women in Colombia with Zika virus infection during pregnancy that revealed severe central nervous system defects and potential associated abnormalities of the eye, spleen, and placenta. Amniotic fluid and tissues from multiple fetal organs tested positive for Zika virus.

Addressing the social determinants of health (SDOH) that influence teen pregnancy is paramount to eliminating disparities and achieving health equity. Expanding prevention efforts from purely individual behavior change to improving the social, political, economic, and built environments in which people live, learn, work, and play may better equip vulnerable youth to adopt and sustain healthy decisions. In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in partnership with the Office of Adolescent Health funded state- and community-based organizations to develop and implement the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Community-Wide Initiative. This effort approached teen pregnancy from an SDOH perspective, by identifying contextual factors that influence teen pregnancy and other adverse sexual health outcomes among vulnerable youth. Strategies included, but were not limited to, conducting a root cause analysis and establishing nontraditional partnerships to address determinants identified by community members. This article describes the value of an SDOH approach for achieving health equity, explains the integration of such an approach into community-level teen pregnancy prevention activities, and highlights two project partners' efforts to establish and nurture nontraditional partnerships to address specific SDOH.

Background Colombia began official surveillance for Zika virus disease (ZVD) in August 2015. In October 2015, an outbreak of ZVD was declared after laboratory-confirmed disease was identified in nine patients. Methods Using the national population-based surveillance system, we assessed patients with clinical symptoms of ZVD from August 9, 2015, to April 2, 2016. Laboratory test results and pregnancy outcomes were evaluated for a subgroup of pregnant women. Concurrently, we investigated reports of microcephaly for evidence of congenital ZVD. Results By April 2, 2016, there were 65,726 cases of ZVD reported in Colombia, of which 2485 (4%) were confirmed by means of reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) assay. The overall reported incidence of ZVD among female patients was twice that in male patients. A total of 11,944 pregnant women with ZVD were reported in Colombia, with 1484 (12%) of these cases confirmed on RT-PCR assay. In a subgroup of 1850 pregnant women, more than 90% of women who were reportedly infected during the third trimester had given birth, and no infants with apparent abnormalities, including microcephaly, have been identified. A majority of the women who contracted ZVD in the first or second trimester were still pregnant at the time of this report. Among the cases of microcephaly investigated from January 2016 through April 2016, four patients had laboratory evidence of congenital ZVD; all were born to asymptomatic mothers who were not included in the ZVD surveillance system. Conclusions Preliminary surveillance data in Colombia suggest that maternal infection with the Zika virus during the third trimester of pregnancy is not linked to structural abnormalities in the fetus. However, the monitoring of the effect of ZVD on pregnant women in Colombia is ongoing. (Funded by Colombian Instituto Nacional de Salud and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.).

BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding has large benefits for mothers and infants. The short-term benefits for child survival and reduced morbidity differ by population subgroup because of differences in underlying risk factors. Although breastfeeding is more common among poor than well-off women, how breastfeeding patterns change between these subgroups is important from a policy perspective as the poor will benefit more from increased duration of breastfeeding. METHODS: We use nationally representative data from eight countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to document changes in breastfeeding duration between 1986 and 2005, and separate the overall change into the portion attributable to changing population characteristics and the portion resulting from changing breastfeeding behaviour within population subgroups. RESULTS: Breastfeeding duration increased in six out of the eight countries and the changes observed are largely explained by changing behaviour within population subgroups rather than changing population characteristics. Changes in breastfeeding duration did not tend to be equitably distributed, but in four countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Peru) the population subgroups whose children are most at risk for mortality and increased morbidity from not being breastfed were least likely to show improvements in breastfeeding duration. Between 1986 and 2004 in Peru, breastfeeding duration declined by 0.6 months among rural women while increasing by 9.7 months among urban women; it increased by 6.3 months among women with prenatal care but only by 3.7 months among women with no prenatal care. Changes in breastfeeding in Guatemala and Haiti tended to favour the well-off compared with the poor, though not consistently. In Nicaragua changes in breastfeeding duration tended to favour the less well-off. DISCUSSION: While promoting breastfeeding is a must for all women, to maximize its benefits for child survival and health, additional efforts are needed to reach poorly educated and rural women with little access to health care.