First breeding record for Falco peregrinus in urban Lima, Peru, with remarks on the Peruvian breeding population

Volume: 37Start Page: 84End Page: 8

Investigación epidemiológica del Cólera en el Perú: Lecciones para un Continente en riesgo.

Desde el inicio de la epidemia de cólera en el Perú el Programa de Entrenamiento en Epidemiología de Campo de la Oficina General de Epidemiología del Ministerio de Salud ha desarrollado diversas investigaciones con el propósito de mejorar de las medidas de intervención para el control del problema. A través de la aplicación y diseños metodológicos estandarizados en las áreas mas afectadas, se ha encontrado que la seroprevalencia de infección por Vibrio cholerae alcanza a 25-30 de cada 100 habitantes. Los factores de riesgo más significativos incluyen consumo de agua no tratada y de alimentos sanitariamente deficientes. La severidad de cuadro clínico colérico está asociada significativamente con la presencia de grupo sanguíneo "O". La letalidad del cólera está asociada con el tratamiento intradomiciliario del enfermo y laautomedicación familiar. El desconocimiento acerca de los modos de contagio, tratamiento y prácticas preventivas incrementa el riesgo de enfermar con cólera.Finalmente, la magnitud del cólera en la población infantil parece ser mayor en el escenario comunitario que en el Hospitalario. Los estudios en el campo pueden ayudar a identificar medidas de control mas específicas y las más efectivas

Manipulation of Agricultural Habitats to Improve Conservation Biological Control in South America

International audienceStable and diversified agroecosystems provide farmers with important ecosystem services, which are unfortunately being lost at an alarming rate under the current conventional agriculture framework. Nevertheless, this concern can be tackled by using ecological intensification as an alternative strategy to recuperate ecosystem services (e.g., biological control of pests). To this end, the manipulation of agricultural habitats to enhance natural enemy conservation has been widely explored and reported in Western Europe and North America, whereas in other parts of the world, the investigation of such topic is lagging behind (e.g., South America). In this forum, we gathered published and unpublished information on the different ecological habitat management strategies that have been implemented in South America and their effects on pest control. Additionally, we identify the various challenges and analyze the outlook for the science of conservation biological control in South America. More specifically, we reviewed how different agricultural practices and habitat manipulation in South America have influenced pest management through natural enemy conservation. The main habitat manipulations reported include plant diversification (intercropping, insectary plants, agroforestry), conservation and management of non-crop vegetation, and application of artificial foods. Overall, we noticed that there is a significant discrepancy in the amount of research on conservation biological control among South American countries, and we found that, although intercropping, polycultures, and crop rotation have been reported in agroecosystems since pre-Inca times, more systematic studies are required to evaluate the true effects of habitat management to implement conservation biological control for pest control in South America