Ricardo Izurieta
Dr. Izurieta received his MD from the Central University of Ecuador and after graduation, carried out his postdoctoral training in Public Health and Tropical Diseases. In 1991, he faced the cholera epidemic that spread through Latin American countries as National Director of the Cholera Control Program in the Ministry of Public Health of Ecuador. In 1997, he was appointed Chief of the Department of Epidemiology and Director of The Vaccine Center of the Armed Forces of Ecuador. During his studies, he has been a USAID Thomas Jefferson Fellow, a PAHO Research Fellow, a Gorgas Memorial Institute Fellow, and a FUNDACYT Fellow. In 2003, Dr. Izurieta was elected Vice President of the Gorgas Memorial Institute of Tropical and Preventive Medicine and is currently its Latin American Liaison. He has extensive experience in conducting epidemiological studies to determine patterns of disease transmission which have allowed the successful control and prevention of vector-borne, water-related, and sexually transmitted infectious diseases that have caused epidemics in Ecuador and in other South and Central American countries. In 1997, as National Director of the Ecuadorian National Committee against Hemorrhagic Fevers, Dr. Izurieta controlled the last yellow fever outbreak and eliminated human transmission of this virus in the Amazonian basin and the entire country.
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PUBLICATIONS
Contribution to Science
1. Elimination and Control of Vector Borne Viral Diseases. In the area of vector-borne diseases control, as interventionist epidemiologist I leaded, as Chair of the Armed Forces Vaccine Center and Chair of the National Committee to Control Hemorrhagic Fevers, the elimination of human transmission of yellow fever in Ecuador. The country that has not reported any autochthonous new yellow fever case since 2001. As MOH Health Officer I participated as mentor in the control of malaria in Ecuador with a successful reduction of 99.5% reduction of cases since 2001.
1. Izurieta R, Macaluso M, Watts D, Tesh R, Guerra B, Cruz L., Galwankar S., Vermund S: “Anamnestic Immune Response to Dengue and decreased Severity of Yellow Fever Cases”. JGID 1 Vol. No 1, 2009.
2. Izurieta RO, Macaluso M, Watts DM, Tesh RB, Guerra B, Cruz LM, Galwankar S, Vermund SH. Hunting in the Rainforest and Mayaro Virus Infection: An emerging Alphavirus in Ecuador. JGID 2011 Oct; 3(4):317-23.
3. Izurieta R, Macaluso M, Watts D, Tesh R, Guerra B, Cruz L., Galwankar S., Vermund S: “Yellow Fever and Rain Forest Clearing in the Ecuadorian Amazon”. JGID 2 Vol. No 1, 2009.
4. Reina-Ortiz M, Le NK, Sharma V, Hoare I, Quizhpe E, Teran E, Naik E, Salihu H, Izurieta R. Post-Earthquake Zika Virus Surge: disaster and public health threat amid climatic conduciveness. Presented in the 65th American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Annual Meeting (2016). Manuscript in submission to The Lancet Global Health.
2. HIV/AIDS pandemic assessment and control. I consider myself an interventionist epidemiologist. Since HIV/AIDS became the pandemic of the 20th century my field of research has been oriented to the understanding of socioeconomic and cultural determinants of this global plague. It is my believe that the HIV/AIDS pandemic has been potentiated by other epidemics such us substance abuse, violence and other STIs. As interventionist epidemiologist, my strategies of control are adapted to the socio-economic, cultural, and ecological conditions on each region of the world. Being education, knowledge, early diagnosis and early treatment strong tools for the control of this disease, understanding the obstacles that minority or marginalized populations face, as well as developing new strategies to cope with this lack of access to medical and public health interventions, are key factors for the prevention control this infection. Below a list of selected manuscripts
1. Klaus K, Baldwin J, Izurieta R, Naik E, Seme A, Corvin J, Hiruye A, Enquselassie F. Reducing PMTCT Attrition: Perspectives of HIV+ Women on the Prevention of Mother-To-Child HIV Services in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ethiop Med J. 2015 Apr; 53 (2):91-104.
2. GhiyaR., Naik E., Casanas B., Izurieta R., Marfatia Y. “Clinico-epidemiological profile of HIV/TB coinfected patients in Vadodara, Gujarat”. Indian J Sex Transm Dis & AIDS Vol. 30, No. 1, 2009
3. Reina Ortiz M, Sharma V, Izurieta R. HIV Prevalence in Asia and the Pacific: an Ecological Approach to Inequalities in the Region. Health and the Environment Journal 2012; 3(3):66-77.
4. Hernandez I, Reina-Ortiz M, Johnson A, Rosas C; Sharma V; Teran S; Naik E; Salihu A; Teran E; Izurieta R. Risk Factors Associated with HIV among men that have sex with men (MSM) in Ecuador". Journal of Men’s Health My 8, 2016.
3. Investigation of vector-borne infections in tropical and subtropical areas. My passion for research in the area of tropical diseases started early in my career when at the age of 24 I was deployed to serve as a rural physician in a small town of the Ecuadorian rainforest. My daily routine consisted of attending to large numbers of patients with usual diseases of the tropics- malaria, leishmaniasis, acute diarrhea, respiratory infections, Chaga’s disease, cysticercosis and intestinal parasites. Being in a tropical rainforest area endemic for leishmaniasis made myself take the first steps in tropical diseases research with Drs. Rodrigo Armijos and Margaret Weigel. With the mentioned scientists we arranged the pioneer and one of the most productive research teams in the area of leishmaniasis in Ecuador. The publications made with this team gave the rationale for the development of various leishmania experimental vaccines.
1. Weigel MM, Armijos RX, Racines J, Zurita C, Izurieta R, Herrea E, Hinojosa E:"Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Subtropical Ecuador: Popular Perceptions, Knowledge, and Treatment". Bulletin of Pan American Health Organization 28(2), 1994.
2. Weigel MM, Armijos RX, Monaco M, Izurieta R, Racines J, Zurita C, Jaramillo G: "Nutritional and Health Status of Rural Women Colonists in the Subtropical Lowlands of Northwest Ecuador". Ecology of Food and Nutrition, Vol 29, 1992.
3. Armijos RX, Racines J, Izurieta R: “Evaluation de la sensibilidad de cinco metodos diagnosticos de la leishmaniasis cutanea”. Medical Faculty Journal, Central University of Ecuador, Vol 16 (3-4), 1991
4. Armijos R, Racines J, Izurieta R. Evaluation of the Sensitivity of Five Diagnostic Methods for Cutaneous Leishmaniasis. Revista de la Facultad de Ciencias Medicas . 1991 August; 16(3/4):9-14
4. Investigation of Patterns of Transmission and Disease Control during Pandemics and Epidemics. Being gastrointestinal infections one of the high incidence infection –especially among the immunosuppressed -my research has also been concentrated in the development of new diagnostic tools for gastrointestinal infections, novel tools to inactivate helminthes ova, and prevention and control of waterborne diseases. My USA/Japan team discovery of two new H. pylori biotypes.
1. Prieto DM, Das TK, Savachkin AA, Uribe A, Izurieta R, Malavade S.: A systematic review to identify areas of enhancements of pandemic simulation models for operational use at provincial and local levels. BMC Public Health. 2012 Mar 30; 12 (1):251.
2.Poirier MJ, Izurieta R, Malavade SS, McDonald MD. Re-emergence of Cholera in the Americas: Risks, Susceptibility, and Ecology. J Glob Infect Dis. 2012 Jul;4(3):162-71
3. Tadahiro Sasaki, Ricardo Izurieta, Boo Kwa, Edmundo Estevez, Azael Saldana, Jose Calzada, Maki Utsumi, Saori Fujimoto, Iraru Hirai, Yoshimasa Yamamoto: “A pilot study of epidemiological analysis of Helicobacter pylori genotype and parasites in stool samples obtained from asymptomatic people in tropical countries” LabMed 40:412-414, 2009
4. Sempertegui F, Estrella B, Izurieta R: “The beneficial effect of weekly low-dose vitamin A supplementation on acute respiratory infection and diarrhea in Ecuadorian children”. Pediatrics Vol 104 No 1 , July, 1999.
A complete list of research and publication work may be found in MyBibliography:
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