Libro II · Título I Capítulo III. De la prevencion de las enfermedades

The Ministry of Health, in coordination with the other institutions of the Sector, and with the active participation of organized communities, shall promote and develop actions aimed at preventing the spread and at the control and eradication of communicable diseases throughout the national territory, exercise technical surveillance over compliance in the matter and issue the pertinent provisions, in accordance with the regulations to be established.

The health information system is understood as the set of statistical data and reports on the health situation and its trends, the productivity, coverage and costs of health services and the quantification and qualification of the different human, technological and financial resources of the institutions that make up the Sector. The Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Statistics shall regulate its organization and operation according to their field of action.

It is the obligation of health institutions, establishments and personnel, public and private, other authorities and the community in general, to notify immediately to the dependency of the Ministry of Health of its jurisdiction of the appearance of environmental, behavioral and occupational risk factors, as well as preventable, transmissible, non-transmissible diseases, accidents and diseases related to veterinary public health. Diseases subject to mandatory notification shall be established in the regulations, as well as the management of the case on an individual and collective basis. Non-compliance with this provision shall be sanctioned in accordance with what is established in the book of sanctions of this Code.

Public and private establishments of the Sector shall provide to sick carriers of communicable diseases and to their contacts, access to etiological diagnosis and to health care, under conditions in which their personal integrity and the confidentiality of the case are respected, without prejudice to what is indicated in Article 54.

Sick persons who are carriers of transmissible diseases and their contacts have the obligation to comply with the provisions issued by the Ministry of Health, to prevent the spread and to promote the control or elimination of transmissible diseases.

The Ministry of Health must establish the reference diagnosis system, as support to the health surveillance system, to collaborate in the investigation and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases that affect or put at risk social conglomerates.

In the event of an epidemic or socio-environmental risk, the Ministry of Health, jointly with the other institutions of the Sector and other involved sectors, shall issue the rules and procedures necessary to protect the population.

In case of epidemic or socio-environmental risk, the institutions of the Health Sector, of other sectors and the community are obligated to cooperate for the application and compliance with the norms, laws and procedures established, according to needs.

The Ministry of Health in coordination with the health authorities of the other countries, international organizations and other sectors, shall execute actions of international protection against diseases, which shall be governed by the International Regulation of the World Health Organization, by the Pan American Sanitary Code and bilateral and multilateral agreements.

Given the importance of the epidemic potential, its significance and the availability of technology for its control or eradication, the Ministry of Health shall support, with the necessary resources, the immunization programs, which, with the participation of the other institutions of the Sector, the community and civil society, shall carry out the actions for the control and eradication of such diseases, likewise strengthening the epidemiological surveillance system thereof. The administration of safe and effective vaccines shall be free of charge in all public establishments of the sector.

The Ministry of Health is responsible for formulating, evaluating and supervising actions aimed at the control of sexually transmitted diseases. Given the magnitude, significance and other epidemiological characteristics of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS), the Ministry of Health shall support the specific development of education, detection, prevention and control programs for STDs, HIV/AIDS, with the participation of various sectors.

The Ministries of Health and of Agriculture, Livestock and Food shall establish and coordinate a program for surveillance, promotion and care of veterinary public health for the prevention and control of diseases affecting the health of human beings and animals, which shall incorporate, among others:

a)Measures to protect the population against animals that constitute risks to health;

b)Programs for the immunization of animals to prevent zoonotic diseases, with the participation of the public and private sectors;

c)Procedures to control the importation, transitory, accidental or fraudulent introduction of products and vectors of any nature and type, capable of constituting a risk to health;

d)To foster research into diseases transmissible to humans, especially those transmitted through domestic animals.

The Ministry of Health, in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food and the municipalities, shall be responsible for administering programs for the prevention of human and canine rabies, guaranteeing the availability of vaccines and the care of persons at risk of developing this disease.

The Ministry of Health, in coordination with the other institutions of the Sector that carry out actions in this area, shall administer programs that promote community participation for the protection of the environment and the elimination of reservoirs that facilitate the proliferation of vectors involved in the transmission of these diseases. The authorization and periodic control of companies dedicated to the elimination of pests and vectors corresponds to the Ministry of Health.

The Ministry of Health, in coordination with the other institutions of the sector and private initiative, shall develop programs for the enrichment of foods with nutrients, to prevent specific nutritional deficiencies and dental caries.

The Ministry of Health, in coordination with the institutions of the Sector, shall:

a)Promote and develop the pertinent actions to prevent the emergence and control the spread of emerging or re-emerging diseases, transmissible or non-transmissible, that tend to become a threat to public health.

b)Formulate, evaluate and supervise pertinent actions for the prevention and control of diseases caused by microbes, chemical substances or natural toxins, transmitted through food and water.

c)Formulate, evaluate and supervise pertinent actions for the prevention and control of acute and chronic intoxication by pesticides and chemical substances.