Pediatric Infectious Diseases · Vaccinology · Public Health
Alejandra Gaiano, MD
Pediatric infectious disease specialist and immunization expert with more than 25 years of hospital practice and national public health experience in Argentina. Head of a referral Pediatric Infectious Diseases Service, former member of the country's National Immunization Advisory Group, and general coordinator of three national vaccination campaigns.
Available for advisory boards, scientific lectures, medical education and institutional consulting across Ibero-America. Based in Buenos Aires; open to short international travel.
Current appointments
Head, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Service
Hospital Materno Infantil de San Isidro "Dr. Gianantonio"
since 2006
Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist
Ministry of Health of Argentina — Directorate of Zoonoses and Vectors
since 2008
Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist, PROCIRA
Infection Control and Antimicrobial Resistance Program, Hospital Pirovano, Buenos Aires
current
Principal Investigator — Dengue vertical transmission
INBIRS (University of Buenos Aires – CONICET) & Fundación Instituto Leloir
current
Areas of expertise
- Immunization programs and vaccine policy
- Vaccine hesitancy and confidence recovery
- Measles and pertussis outbreak response
- Vaccine-preventable disease surveillance
- Dengue and arbovirus in pregnancy and childhood
- Congenital and perinatal infections
- Travel medicine and pre-travel vaccination
- Antimicrobial resistance in pediatrics
Lectures and teaching
Topics available for congresses, pre-congress courses, continuing medical education and in-house training. Sessions can be delivered on site or remotely, and adapted in depth for clinicians, public health teams or general audiences.
The collapse of immunization coverage in Latin America
Why coverage fell, what the regional data shows, and which interventions have actually reversed the trend. Grounded in first-hand experience coordinating national immunization campaigns.
Answering vaccine hesitancy in the consulting room
A practical framework for clinicians facing parental doubt: what works, what backfires, and how to hold the conversation without losing the family.
Measles is back: surveillance, response and catch-up
Outbreak recognition, case management and the design of catch-up campaigns, drawing on the 2008–2010 national measles–rubella and pandemic influenza campaigns.
Pertussis in early infancy
Why cases are rising, why the classic cough is often absent, and how maternal immunization and timely suspicion change outcomes in infants.
Dengue in pregnancy and vertical transmission
Current evidence and ongoing research on maternal–fetal dengue transmission, and its clinical implications for neonatal care in endemic regions.
Travel vaccines and pre-travel risk assessment for South America
Destination-based risk, yellow fever and arbovirus exposure, and how to build a pre-travel plan for families and corporate travelers.
Institutional and policy roles
- member since 2004
Deputy Secretary, Infectious Diseases Committee
Argentine Society of Pediatrics (SAP)
- September 2026
Secretary General, 11th Argentine Congress of Infectious Diseases
Argentine Society of Infectious Diseases (SADI)
- current
Full member, Vaccine Commission
Argentine Society of Infectious Diseases (SADI)
- 2007–2016
Member, National Immunization Advisory Group (CONAIN / NITAG)
Ministry of Health of Argentina
- 2008–2016
Scientific Coordinator, National Program for the Control of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
Ministry of Health of Argentina
- 2008–2010
General Coordinator, national vaccination campaigns
Pandemic influenza (2010) · Measles–rubella–polio (2009) · Measles–rubella (2008)
- since 2024
Coordinator, national consensus guidelines
Perinatal infections and sexually transmitted infections in childhood and adolescence — SAP
Selected publications
Atypical manifestations of dengue in pediatric patients hospitalized during the 2023–2024 epidemic in Argentina: a multicenter registry
European Journal of Pediatrics · 2026
López O, Tirao E, Juarez X, Piedra E, Ensinck G, Gaiano A, Higa V, Borra M, Garnero A, Montiel Ríos D, y colaboradores del registro multicéntrico.
View publication (opens in a new tab)Protection of homologous and heterologous boosters after primary schemes of rAd26-rAd5, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and BBIBP-CorV during the omicron outbreak in adults of 50 years and older in Argentina: a test-negative case-control study
The Lancet Regional Health – Americas · 2023
González S, Olszevicki S, Gaiano A, Salazar M, Regairaz L, Varela Baino AN, Bartel E, Varela T, González Martínez VV, Pesci S, Marín L, Irassar JI, Ceriani L, Garcia E, Kreplak N, Estenssoro E, Marsico F.
View publication (opens in a new tab)Effectiveness of BBIBP-CorV, BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 vaccines against hospitalisations among children and adolescents during the Omicron outbreak in Argentina: A retrospective cohort study
The Lancet Regional Health – Americas · 2022
González S, Olszevicki S, Gaiano A, Baino ANV, Regairaz L, Salazar M, Pesci S, Marín L, Martínez VVG, Varela T, Ceriani L, Garcia E, Kreplak N, Navarro A, Estenssoro E, Marsico F.
View publication (opens in a new tab)Larva migrans visceral (toxocariasis pulmonar)
Archivos Argentinos de Pediatría · 2017
Saltarelli OI, Eilert MM, Luedicke N, Gaiano A.
View publication (opens in a new tab)National Immunization Commission: strengthening evidence-based decision making in Argentina
Vaccine · 2014
Stecher D, Gaiano A, Biscayart C, Gentile A, Ayala SG, López E, Bonvehí P, Yedlin P, Janusz C, Vizzotti C.
View publication (opens in a new tab)
Education and training
| Degree | Institution | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Specialist in Public Health | University of Buenos Aires — final evaluation: 10/10 | 2021 |
| Latin American Diploma in Vaccinology | Instituto Carlos Slim · UNAM, Mexico | 2012 |
| Postgraduate, Essential Public Health Functions | Ministry of Health · National University of Córdoba · PAHO/WHO | 2012 |
| Specialist in Pediatric Infectious Diseases | University of Buenos Aires — final evaluation: 10/10 | 2005 |
| Specialist in Pediatrics | UBA · Ministry of Health · SAP · National Academy of Medicine | 2002–2005 |
| Doctor of Medicine | School of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires | 1991–1996 |
Clinical training
- Chief Resident, Pediatric Infectious Diseases — Hospital Ricardo Gutiérrez (2005–2006)
- Residency in Pediatric Infectious Diseases — Hospital Ricardo Gutiérrez (2002–2005)
- Advanced fellowship — Hospital Garrahan (2001–2002)
- Residency in Clinical Pediatrics — Hospital Garrahan (1997–2000)
Public engagement
Regular scientific voice on immunization in Argentine national media, including Infobae, La Nación and national radio, on falling vaccination coverage, measles and pertussis resurgence, and vaccine confidence.
See press coverage (in Spanish)Languages
- Spanish — native
- English — fluent
- French — working knowledge
Medical licenses: MN 95.088 · MP 450.319 (Argentina)
Enquiries
For advisory boards, speaking invitations, teaching collaborations or institutional consulting, please get in touch through the contact form.
Contact