Proper and dignified management of the dead in disasters is one of the three key pillars of humanitarian response and a fundamental factor in facilitating identification of the deceased and helping families discover the fate of their loved ones. This second and updated edition of this hugely success...ful manual provides practical and easy-to-follow guidelines on the recovery, documentation and storage of the remains of individuals who have died in disasters, helping first responders ensure that the dead are treated with respect and that information crucial for their subsequent identification is recorded. This revised edition incorporates experience gained in recent catastrophes, such as the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, the 2014/15 Ebola epidemic in West Africa and the 2015 earthquake in Nepal.
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The National Strategic Plan 2009-2012 on HIV and AIDS (NSP) is the result of more than a year of preparatory work, starting with the development of Rwanda's Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS) 2008-2012, which sets out the overarching goals for the response to HIV and AIDS as... well as reaffirming Rwanda's commitment to a multi-sector response. In addition, a wide range of analyses carried out in 2007 and 2008 have helped to ensure that the NSP is based on the most up to date understanding of the epidemic, that the strategies are based on evidence of what works in Rwanda and elsewhere, and that the strengths and weaknesses of the systems and mechanisms for responding to HIV and AIDS are addressed through the NSP.
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ProMED - the Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases - is an Internet-based reporting system dedicated to rapid global dissemination of information on outbreaks of infectious diseases and acute exposures to toxins that affect human health, including those in animals and in plants grown for food or... animal feed.
By providing early warning of outbreaks of emerging and re-emerging diseases, public health precautions at all levels can be taken in a timely manner to prevent epidemic transmission and to save lives
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In response to a call by the United Nations Secretary-General and the Governments of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, an international team conducted an Ebola Recovery Assessment.The aim was to contribute towards laying the foundation for short-, medium- and long-term recovery while the medical eme...rgency response continues to tackle the epidemic.
This summary report is based on a full report as well as three detailed reports submitted to each of the three governments as contributions to their national recovery planning processes.
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Thousands of HIV-positive Venezuelans have been forced to leave the country, after facing discrimination and zero treatment options, according to UNAIDS.
Patients once received free ARV treatment under Venezuela’s National AIDS Program. In 2017, the country essentially ran out of ARVs—about 9 p...eople a day died from HIV-related illnesses that year.
“Today, HIV patients in Venezuela have three options: go untreated, buy the medication abroad or on the black market for large sums, or leave the country,” writes Gabriela Mesones Rojo.
The exodus of untreated Venezuelans could shift the course of the epidemic throughout the region.
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The report provides an overview of the disaster risk reduction and management in Nepal, a country under threat of multiple natural hazards: earthquakes, floods, landslides, fires, storms, the epidemics, and others. It presents background information on the country, its disaster profile, its legal an...d institutional framework, the country's achievements in regards to the Hyogo Framework for Action, and looks at the challenges and future steps in the area of disaster management in Nepal.
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Also available in English.
Esta nueva edición del Informe sobre control del tabaco en la Región de las Américas presenta la situación actual y las tendencias de la epidemia del tabaquismo en la Región de las Américas, así como de la aplicación de seis medidas efectivas para combatirla conoc...idas como el paquete de medidas MPOWER. El informe cuenta con las contribuciones de autores invitados, quienes comparten sus puntos de vista sobre temas de alto interés para la Región, como es el Protocolo para la Eliminación del Comercio Ilícito de Productos de Tabaco, la regulación de nuevos (y viejos) productos y lecciones aprendidas. El informe incluye además una sección con perfiles de país, en la que se muestra el estado de aplicación de las seis medidas en cada uno de los 35 Estados Miembros de la Región.
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Second interim report to the SMAC program, DFID Freetown
This report provides further output from an anthropological study of 25 villages affected by Ebola Virus Disease in eastern and central Sierra Leone, undertaken as part of the DFID-funded social mobilization initiative for Ebola prevention in... Sierra Leone. Eight focus group transcripts for 3 villages in Kenema District are presented, covering local responses to health issues, and Ebola in particular. Supporting material from a matching questionnaire-based study of health behavior and perceived causes of Ebola is also provided. Of particular relevance are two summary tables aggregating the questions villagers asked survey teams about Ebola and quarantine-related issues in villages where the epidemic has in effect ceased to be active
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This review of the IFRC support to the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society response to the 2012 cholera outbreak provides ideas and concepts to promote a more coherent and evidence based rationale on how to make more effective use of IFRC global assets to stop, control, mitigate and respond to cholera ep...idemics. No fit and healthy person should die from cholera – that should be the indicator of success.
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Visit the Ebola Outbreak page on NEJM.org for a collection of articles and other resources, including powerful, personal essays with first-hand reporting from caregivers in the field, an interactive graphic with information on past and present Ebola outbreaks, and an audio interview with NIAID Direc...tor Dr. Anthony Fauci about the current epidemic and the promise of candidate vaccines and therapies. The page also offers clinical reports and management guidelines, and will be updated as more information on this world health crisis becomes available. FREE!
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167,607 dengue cases, including 720 deaths, reported from 1 January to 27 July 2019: 97% higher than in 2018, in spite of a delayed rainy season.
Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 0.43% as of 27 July 2019 is lower than in the same time period in 2018 (0.54%), but still significantly higher than the reg...ional average of 0.22% in the Western Pacific.
The Philippines Department of Health (DOH) declared a National Dengue Epidemic on 6 August 2019, urging all regional DOH offices to step up dengue surveillance, case management and outbreak re-sponse, clean-up drives, and vector control in health facilities and communities, conduct Sabayang 4-O’Clock Habit Para sa Deng-Get Out focusing on search and destroy of mosquito breeding sites, and to enable LGUs to use their quick response funds to help address the epidemic.
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O PEN IV reune informação de inquéritos, estudos epidemiológicos e comportamentais, tendo como objetivo estabelecer os objetivos e metas no combate à epidemia do HIV/SIDA em Moçambique através de uma abordagem que reforça e dinamiza o envolvimento de todos os setores do Estado, Sociedade... Civil e Sector Privado.
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Il Coronavirus1 si sta diffondendo a livello globale. In che modo possono persone, comunità ed agenzie umanitarie fornire un’assistenza efficace durante l’epidemia di COVID-19? In che modo può il manuale Sphere guidare il nostro intervento?
Questo documento si compone di due sezioni: A. La... prima sezione presenta i principi fondamentali che sono alla base di un intervento olistico ed efficace. B. La seconda presenta gli standard e le linee guida pertinenti contenuti nei capitoli ‘Approvvigionamento idrico, servizi sanitari e sensibilizzazione all’igiene (WASH)’ e ‘Salute’ del manuale Sphere.
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Food and nutrition security in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is subject to the relentless impact of conflict, epidemics and climate events that have persisted in the country for decades, further compounded by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Lack of infrastructure and investment in agriculture, ...health and human capital development combine to impede progress towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 17. While there are several legal instruments and policies that promote food and nutrition security, poor coordination, weak national capacity and exponential population growth present serious obstacles to the achievement of zero hunger. Political instability and siloed sectoral responses to humanitarian and development needs have also affected results to date.
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Acessed on 13.05.2022
Este material possui orientações aos gestores e trabalhadores em saúde nos serviços hospitalares e unidades de pronto atendimento sobre o cuidado e o autocuidado em saúde mental e apoio psicossocial na epidemia de COVID-19.
Dengue Epidemiology
The first record of a case of probable dengue fever is in a Chinese medical encyclopedia from the Jin Dynasty (265–420 AD) which referred to a “water poison” associated with flying insects. The first recognized Dengue epidemics occurred almost simultaneously in Asia, Afr...ica, and North America in the 1780s, shortly after the identification and naming of the disease in 1779. The first confirmed case report dates from 1789 and is by Benjamin Rush, who coined the term "breakbone fever" because of the symptoms of myalgia and arthralgia.
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In their 2015 declaration "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", Member States pledged to end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases by 2030, and to combat hepatitis and other communicable diseases. This report reviews progress an...d challenges in the global response to reduce the burden of these diseases in the context of the Millennium Development Goals, and looks ahead to identify the strategies and approaches that will be needed to accelerate progress during the new development era. The report was developed by WHO's Cluster for HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases in 2015.
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Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a re-emerging mosquito borne alphavirus responsible
for the recent outbreak in the Americas. Immunologically naïve population in the Americas favors the spread of epidemics. Chikungunya fever is characterized by an abrupt febrile illness, polyarthralgia and maculopapul...ar rash. In chikungunya fever, shock or severe hemorrhage is very rarely observed; the onset is more acute and the duration of fever is shorter than dengue disease. The pain is much more pronounced and localized to the joints and tendons in chikungunya fever, in comparison to dengue fever. There is no specific and effective antiviral therapy and vaccines are still in trails. The only effective preventive measures consist of individual protection against mosquito bites and vector control. Disease prevention is important due to the
economic burden it entails. Clinicians need to distinguish chikungunya fever between dengue fever and other diseases to give a successful treatment and prevent disease spreading.
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Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also called sleeping sickness, is a parasitic infection that almost invariably progresses to death, unless treatment is provided. HAT caused devastating epidemics during the 20th century. Thanks to sustained and coordinated efforts during the past 15 years the nu...mber of reported cases has fallen to a historic low. Fewer than 3,000 cases were reported in 2015, and the disease is targeted for elimination by the World Health Organization. Despite recent success, HAT still poses a heavy burden on the rural communities where this highly focal disease occurs, most notably in Central Africa. Since patients are also reported from non-endemic countries outside Africa, HAT should be considered in differential diagnosis for all travellers, tourists, migrants and expatriates who have visited or lived in endemic areas. In the absence of a vaccine, disease control relies on case detection and treatment, and vector control. Available drugs are sub-optimal, but ongoing clinical trials give hope for safer and simpler treatments.
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This country profile presents a summary and analysis of Argentina's status with yellow fever. It is part of a series of profiles on this topic, each focusing on a different country in the Region of the Americas. Argentina's geographical location presents a wide territorial extension throughout diffe...rent latitudes, which determines a wide climatic variety, maintaining the conditions for the enzootic transmission of the yellow fever virus in jungle areas of the northeast of the country bordering Brazil and Paraguay. After controlling the major urban epidemics that hit the port city of Buenos Aires in the 20th century, Argentina maintains foci of enzootic activity in the northeast and isolated human cases for jungle acquisition. The increases in viral activity usually occur in a regional context of epizootics that affect southern Brazil and eastern Paraguay. Argentina has not presented autochthonous cases since 2008. Outbreaks have been sporadic with long intervals without evidence of viral activity.
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