The evidence of politics in trans-fatty acid regulation in Mexico / La evidencia de la política en la regulación de los ácidos grasos trans en México

Abstract According to the World Health Organization, coronary heart disease (CHD)-caused deaths accounted for one-fifth of the total deaths in Mexico in 2017. Researches done in the past have confirmed the association between dietary trans-fatty acids (TFA) and CHD. Dietary TFA are mostly derived from industrial-hydrogenated oils, milk products, and meat fats. This paper is a build on of a policy paper done on international policies for TFA in low-to-middle income countries, using Mexico as the case study. This write up, however, aims to critically analyse the TFA regulation policy process in Mexico, evaluating the strength of evidence proposed and identifying the barriers preventing the usage of the evidence for a TFA regulation policy implementation. Although evidence abounds for TFA regulation policy, lack of effective collaboration and communication among the major actors (researchers, policymakers, and consumers) in Mexico remains a major setback in its implementation.

Resumen Según la Organización Mundial de la Salud, las muertes causadas por enfermedades coronarias (EC) representaron una quinta parte del total de muertes en México en 2017. Investigaciones realizadas en el pasado han confirmado la asociación entre los ácidos grasos trans (AGT) en la dieta y las EC. Los AGT de la dieta se derivan principalmente de aceites hidrogenados industriales, productos lácteos y grasas cárnicas. Este trabajo tiene como base un documento de política pública acerca de las políticas internacionales para AGT en países de ingresos bajos a medianos, utilizando a México como estudio de caso. Sin embargo, esta reelaboración tiene como objetivo analizar críticamente el proceso de políticas de regulación de AGT en México, mediante la evaluación de la solidez de la evidencia propuesta y la identificación de las barreras que impiden el uso de la misma para la implementación de una política de regulación de AGT. Aunque abundan las evidencias para fundamentar políticas de regulación de los AGT, la falta de colaboración y comunicación efectivas entre los principales actores (investigadores, formuladores de políticas y consumidores) en México sigue siendo un gran obstáculo en su implementación.

Atypical Kawasaki syndrome in COVID-19 infection: a case report of a multisystem inflammatory syndrome in a child (MIS-C)

The emergence of COVID-19 by a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in 2019 has seen evolving data reporting infrequent infection in children and mostly mild disease for children who contract the infection. A severe form of COVID-19 in children recently reported in Europe and North America describes a multisystem inflammation syndrome in children (MIS-C), presenting as toxic-shock-like and Kawasaki-like syndromes. Data on MIS-C in Africa is being documented with recent reports from South Africa and Nigeria in black children, but information on MIS-C in Ghana is yet to be characterized. We report the first case of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in a child who tested PCR positive to SARS-CoV2 in a tertiary hospital in Ghana. The case describes a 10- year-old boy who reported Kawasaki-like syndrome without shock but with moderate respiratory distress requiring supportive acute care without the need for intensive care.