Law 100 introduced the Health Sector Reform in Colombia, a model of managed competition. This article addresses the effects of this model in terms of output and outcomes of TB control. Trends in main TB control indicators were analysed using secondary data sources, and 25 interviews were done with key informants from public and private insurers and provider institutions, and from the health directorate level. We found a deterioration in the performance of TB control: a decreasing number of BCG vaccine doses applied, a reduction in case finding and contacts identification, low cure rates and an increasing loss of follow up, which mainly affects poor people. Fragmentation occurred as the atomization and discontinuity of the technical processes took place, there was a lack of coordination, as well as a breakdown between individual and collective interventions, and the health information system began to disintegrate. The introduction of the Managed Competition (MC) in Colombia appeared to have adverse effects on TB control due to the dominance of the economic rationality in the health system and the weak state stewardship. Our recommendations are to restructure the reform's public health component, strengthen the technical capacity in public health of the state, mainly at the local and departmental levels, and to improve the health information system by reorienting its objectives to public health goals.

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The susceptible-infected model can be useful during an epidemic's initial phase (prior to removal); however, closer monitoring of an epidemic's development is required for modelling the strength of removal and deriving useful information for decision-making.

Abstract. A Maple Package namedMackendrick is presented. Such package is oriented to symbolic computational epidemiology.

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Algebraic analysis of social networks exhibited by SARS-Beijing-2003 and AH1N1 flu-México-2009 was realized. The main tools were the Tutte polynomials and Maple package Graph-Theory. The topological structures like graphs and networks were represented by invariant polynomials. The evolution of a given social network was represented like an evolution of the algebraic complexity of the corresponding Tutte polynomial. The reduction of a given social network was described like an involution of the algebraic complexity of the associated Tutte polynomial. The outbreaks of SARS and AH1N1 Flu were considered like represented by a reduction of previously existing contact networks via the control measures executed by health authorities. From Tutte polynomials were derived numerical indicators about efficiency of control measures.

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Introduction: Serological surveillance (serosurveillance) provides the most direct measure of herd immunity of vaccine-preventable diseases. Little is known about the opportunities and challenges of serosurveillance experiences, particularly pertussis.Objective: To describe the process of serosurveillance for vaccine-preventable diseases with an emphasis on the experience of pertussis in the metropolitan area of Antioquia (Valle de Aburrá) in 2015 and 2016 and analyze the contributions and challenges for its sustainability.Materials and methods: We described the planning and conduction of serosurveillance of pertussis antibodies of mothers and in the umbilical cord at the time of delivery in eight hospitals based on random sampling and their capacity to advance the serosurveillance periodically. We compared the contributions and the challenges of this experience with other probabilistic and non-probabilistic programs.Results: We achieved the participation of hospitals and mothers respecting the delivery care process. We established a serum bank following ethical and technical guidelines. This program based on the random selection of hospitals and mothers has enabled the estimation of antibodies prevalence in mothers and in the umbilical cord, which has been possible given the high coverage of hospital care during childbirth at a lower cost and fewer risks than a population-based survey in conflictive areas. The main challenges for the sustainability of this program are the creation of stable jobs and access to funding and legal and methodological long-term frameworks.Conclusions: Hospital serosurveillance as described is an option to monitor the impact of vaccination on the population. Our experience could be reproduced in other regions under similar conditions if the above-mentioned challenges are solved.