Second editon. This document serves only as a guide to good practice and may help to harmonize surveillance activities. The purpose of this manual is to be a handy reference for key elements and contact information for all communicable diseases / syndromes associated with current WHO control program...mes. It should be particularly useful at the Ministry of Health level in Member States, in approaching integrated surveillance of communicable diseases / syndromes.
The document is intended to be updated on a regular basis. This reflects the changing nature of infectious diseases and accompanying diagnostic and surveillance methods. It also reflects the multidisciplinary nature of disease surveillance in which many different programmes and partners are involved.
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Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) has significantly helped in early diagnosis and commencement of specific interventions for diseases control. It also plays a critical role in understanding the disease epidemiology and unraveling the transmission dynamics of the disease. This manual intends to p...rovide primary guidelines to assist health lab personnel in developing countries to establish a PCR diagnostic facility for efficient support to patient care as well as public health actions.
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In South Africa, young women and girls are exposed to extremely high levels of gender-based violence (GBV) and HIV infection. Given the links between the two epidemics, it is important that HIV prevention programmes also address violence against women and children. The Global Fund’s Young Women an...d Girls (YWG) programme is a multi-pronged HIV prevention programme targeting young women and girls and was implemented in 10 districts in South Africa from April 2016 to March 2019. This briefing paper reports on the lessons learnt from a process evaluation of the child protection component of the programme
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Health Care Facilities (HCFs) are primarily responsible for management of the healthcare waste generated within the facilities, including activities undertaken by them in the community. The health care facilities, while generating the waste are responsible for segregation, collection, in-house trans...portation, pre-treatment of waste and storage of waste, before such waste is collected by Common Bio-medical Waste Treatment Facility(CBWTF) Operator. Thus, for proper management of the waste in the healthcare facilities the technical requirements of waste handling are needed to be understood and practiced by each category of the staff in accordance with the BMWM.
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This Framework offers a coherent approach for eliminating tuberculosis (TB) in low-incidence countries. It is designed to guide national policy-makers and those responsible for technical aspects of the national TB response in accelerating efforts towards elimination. The document will also be inform...ative for public health surveillance officers, practitioners and nongovernmental and civil society partners working on natioal TB care and prevention and serving the populations most vulnerable to TB.
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Towards a Healthier Botswana
Pharmaceutical regulators are at the forefront of ensuring that only safe and effective medicines are authorized and available in the market. This document builds on the recommendations in the above publication and has been prepared to specifically assist national medicines regulatory authorities to... understand the nature and extent of oxytocin quality issues and to provide key technical information and quality requirements for oxytocin products in dossier assessments. Furthermore, this document also presents recommendations on other regulatory actions needed to ensure that only quality-assured oxytocin products are authorized and made available to women.
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La Ceiba, Honduras – 18 y 19 de febrero de 2013
Humanitarian emergencies, regardless of type and cause, have a number of common risk factors for communicable diseases inextricably linked to excess risk of morbidity and mortality which can come from vaccine–preventable diseases (VPDs). The reduction of VPDs is a significant aim of public-health ...interventions during crises.
The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization carried out a comprehensive review of evidence on vaccination decision-making processes and considerations in humanitarian emergencies.
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While the world was gripped by the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, children continued to face the same crisis they have for decades: intolerably high mortality rates and vastly inequitable chances at life. In total, more than 5.0 million children under age 5, including 2.4 million newborns, alo...ng with 2.2 million children and youth aged 5 to 24 years – 43 per cent of whom are adolescents – died in 2020. This tragic and massive loss of life, most of which was due to preventable or treatable causes, is a stark reminder of the urgent need to end preventable deaths of children and young people.
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[Updated 2015]
SCOPING QUESTION: What is the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions (including caregiver skills training) for behavioural disorders in children and adolescents?
The WHO Guide on Oral Cholera Vaccines in Mass Immunization Campaigns provides guidance on the planning and implementation of oral cholera vaccine (OCV) campaigns. It covers key aspects such as when and where to use OCVs, vaccine specifications, and recommendations for use in endemic areas, outbreak... settings, and complex emergencies. The document outlines steps for macro- and micro-planning, logistics, budgeting, human resource allocation, and risk communication. It also highlights challenges, including cold chain management, vaccine supply, and community engagement, ensuring that vaccination campaigns are efficient and effective in reducing cholera outbreaks.
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Over the past few months, battles between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) have increased in Rakhine and Chin states. Initially during the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) administration, and now during the National League for Democracy (NLD) administration, ethnic armed or...ganizations (EAOs) that once had limited numbers and military capabilities have gained in strength by allying with more powerful EAOs, posing a challenge to the peace process. The continued insistence by the government and military that all EAOs sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) before engaging in further substantive dialogue has only exacerbated the many armed conflicts in the country.
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Lancet Global Health Volume 6, ISSUE 2, Pe146-e147, February 01, 2018