Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #114174

Hector F. Gonzalez, MD, MPH, Health, City of Laredo, 2600 Cedar, Laredo, TX 78040, 956-795-4920, hgonzalez@ci.laredo.tx.us

Laredo, a border city of over 200,000, primarily Mexican American is one of the ten (10) fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States growing by 45% (1990-2000). Sixty percent (60%) of the nations product and goods cross through its four (4) international bridges between Mexico and Latin American into the US and Canada. Daily over 11,000 trucks and trailers cross through one bridge. Poverty and unemployment is twice the state rate. Great strides in public health (sanitation, prevention, disease control) and primary care have been made, however, there are still several challenges (unincorporated substandard areas-“Colonias”, higher incidence of communicable diseases and access to health care is still limited for many). Infectious and noninfectious as well emerging diseases are critical. Moreover new and ongoing environmental health concerns (lead exposure and pesticide poisoning) to an already burdened community only adds to adverse health impacts. A lack of adequate preventive health and proper nutrition also affects an adequate immunological response to environmental risk exposure. Therefore additional public health assessments, intervention and prevention efforts are needed along with environmental health surveillance and outreach. Finally fragmentation of regulatory enforcement poses additional barriers to appropriately address these health concerns. These represent key challenges for Border 2012, the United States.-Mexico Border Environmental Protection Agency Program, whose mission is: “To protect the environment and public health” on the U.S.-Mexico border region, consistent with the principles of sustainable development. Relying more on local communities to prepare and respond on their own.

Learning Objectives:

• To learn how to recognize public health and environmental health threats in the US-Mexico Border Region
• To learn about ways to develop responses and interventions to public health threats in the US-Mexico Border Region
• To provide information on ways to initiate and implement community based efforts, especially with limited resources

Keywords: , Environmental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation