Poster - Leptospirosis in the Region of the Americas: From an outbreak perspective

About ten million people are affected by natural disasters in the Americas annually, with the majority of them being floods (38%) and storms (38%).

Since the implementation of the revised version of the International Health Regulations (IHR), which was enacted in June 2007, events considered as a potential public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) are recorded by the Events Management System (EMS) that supports the IHR. Leptospirosis is among the “top 10 events of infectious hazard” reported in the EMS globally and for the Americas it is the third infectious hazard; confirming the importance of this disease as a potential threat to public health.