ARCHIVED - INFORMATION ON PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION (PAHO) PUBLICATIONS

(for ordering information see http://publications.paho.org/english/index.cfm.)

Health Statistics from the Americas, 2003 edition; available only in electronic format

As part of the Pan American Health Organization's (PAHO) constitutional mandate to disseminate information on the health situation and trends in the Region of the Americas, this on-line publication presents mortality data submitted by individual countries of the Americas, as well as other useful health information, for dissemination to the international health community. The statistical information presented in this publication was prepared by the Health Analysis and Information Systems Area (AIS) of PAHO, which was also responsible for the selection, tabulation and technical review of the data presented. The data collection process includes technical collaboration with the member countries to strengthen routine national and vital statistics systems.

This publication marks the first presentation of the detailed causes of death statistics according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) (Vols. 1-3. Geneva, WHO, 1992-1994).

Health in the Americas, 2002 edition; available in electronic format

Health in the Americas is considered the most important and most consulted work of all the publications that PAHO produces. This edition consists of two volumes and covers the period 1997 to 2000.

Volume I describes the health situation from a regional perspective and contains a series of chapters that identify and analyze the most important general, demographic, and mortality trends of the period; major determinants of health as seen from a variety of political, social, economic, and financial standpoints; principal trends and characteristics of the ongoing health sector reform movement; the role of individuals and communities in promoting health; the association between the physical environment and human living conditions; principal diseases and health problems; the extent of human and technologic resources available to address health issues today; and the status and achievements of international and bilateral cooperation within the context of the growing tendency towards trade globalization. Volume II consists of a breakdown of these same topics by country and covers the 45 nations and territories of the Americas.

Other features new to this edition include a discussion of the search for health inequities and how we might reduce them as well as a greater emphasis on the importance of disaggregating demographic information by sex and incorporating a gender perspective in its analysis.

Health in the Americas, 2002 edition is indisputably a valuable reference tool for health authorities, public health and medical professionals, students, social researchers, and all others interested in health in human development issues, including the public at large.

Zoonoses and Communicable Diseases Common to Man and Animals, 3rd edition. Vol. II Chlamydioses, Rickettsioses, and Viroses; Pedro N. Acha and Boris Szyfres

In recent years, zoonoses and communicable diseases common to man and animals have gained increasing attention worldwide. Human diseases, such as AIDS or Creutzfeldt-Jakob, that have their origins in infected animals, have highlighted the need for a better understanding of animal diseases. The ease and speed of modern travel facilitates the spread of diseases once confined to specific geographic areas, as recently occurred with the widely publicized severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic. Animal migration and trade pose a similar threat, as was shown by the outbreaks in the United States of West Nile fever and, most recently, monkeypox - two diseases not previously known in the Western hemisphere. Each of these examples highlights the need for accurate, up-to-date information, such as that presented in the latest edition of Zoonoses and Communicable Diseases Common to Man and Animals.

This edition, published for the first time in three volumes, covers the following:

1. Bacterioses and mycoses

2. Chlamydioses, rickettsioses, and viroses, and

3. Parasitoses

It provides a detailed overview of the most important historic and emerging zoonotic diseases, such as Ebola hemorrhagic fever, foot-and-mouth disease, influenza, giardiasis, Japanese encephalitis, shigellosis, and spongiform encephalopathies, with information ranging from their first appearance and most important outbreaks to the latest scientific knowledge of the diseases and their causative agents.

Vaccines: Preventing Disease and Protecting Health

Vaccines: Preventing Disease and Protecting Health provides cutting-edge developments on vaccines and their history. The first section discusses the role of vaccines in improving the health of the world's populations and their success in fighting and even eradicating diseases like polio from the Americas. The second section introduces new concepts on vaccine development, such as maternal immunization, DNA vaccines, and oral vaccines derived from transgenic plants as well as the use of vaccines against potential bioterrorism. The final section highlights the ongoing challenges of vaccine development, disease prevention, internal and external financing, the sustainability of immunization programs, and the impact of health sector reform on these issues.

Building Better Health: A Handbook of Behavioral Change; C. David Jenkins; now available in electronic format

Building Better Health is a handbook of preventive medicine that blends behavioural sciences (psychology, psychiatry), sociology, epidemiology, health promotion, public health, and medicine. The text targets students in all these areas as well as mid-level health workers - the ones on the front lines in both the USA and developing countries. The book is simple, personal, and compelling. It is organized around the life cycle with additional chapters summarizing each major family of diseases, so it would be useful to several specific institutes that train field workers, graduate students, etc.

The author, C. David Jenkins, is an internationally known health worker, researcher and Professor of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, of Epidemiology, and of Psychiatry. He has been a consultant to the WHO, PAHO, and WHO Regional Offices for Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Western Pacific. Dr. Jenkins' text is lively, enthusiastic, accessible, and anchored in solid science.