Health authorities in Oaxaca and Manizales launch new disease prevention initiatives

Health authorities in Oaxaca, Mexico, and Manizales, Colombia, are implementing new strategies to strengthen public health surveillance and disease prevention.

In Oaxaca, the Servicios de Salud de Oaxaca (SSO) launched the Registro Oaxaqueño de Animales de Compañía (ROAC) in collaboration with the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca (UABJO). This technological tool aims to create a census of companion animals to improve sanitary strategies, manage public resources more efficiently, and enhance epidemiological vigilance against zoonotic diseases. The initiative includes features such as QR code identification and vaccination reminders to help prevent rabies, a disease that has not seen human cases in Oaxaca since 1999.

In Manizales, the Secretaría de Salud Pública de Manizales has introduced the ‘Entrenando Entrenadores’ (Training Trainers) strategy. This program provides basic health teams with tools to identify, register, and report public health risks within their communities. Conducted at the Universidad Autónoma de Manizales, the training focuses on vector-borne diseases, accidents involving animals potentially transmitting rabies, and other events requiring timely epidemiological notification to facilitate rapid decision-making.