An interregional meeting on leishmaniasis among neighbouring endemic
countries in the Eastern Mediterranean, African and European regions was organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern
Mediterranean in Amman, Jordan, from 23 to 25 September 2018. The meeting w...as attended by representatives from the health ministries of Albania, Georgia, Greece, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic and Tunisia. Representatives from Afghanistan, Algeria and Libya were unable to attend. The Secretariat comprised staff from WHO headquarters, WHO regional offices in the Eastern Mediterranean, Africa and Europe, WHO country offices in Iraq, Pakistan, Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen, and WHO temporary advisors from Spain and Tunisia.
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Despite a historical association with poor tolerability, a comprehensive review on safety of antileishmanial chemotherapies is lacking. We carried out an update of a previous systematic review of all published clinical trials in visceral leishmaniasis (VL) from 1980 to 2019 to document any reported ...serious adverse events (SAEs).
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Un évènement de santé publique grave (PHE) consiste en une flambée quelconque ou en toute
autre situation en évolution rapide qui peut avoir un impact négatif sur la santé humaine et exiger
une évaluation et des actions immédiates. Le terme prend en compte tout évènement n’ayant pas
...encore entraîné la maladie chez l’homme mais susceptible de la causer à travers une exposition à
des environnements, des produits manufacturés, des animaux, de l’eau ou de la nourriture infectés
ou contaminés. Le Règlement sanitaire international (2005) entend par «risque pour la santé
publique», «la probabilité d’un événement qui peut nuire à la santé des populations humaines,
plus particulièrement d’un événement pouvant se propager au niveau international ou présenter
un danger grave et direct.»
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La réanimation a pour objectifs de prévenir et de pallier les différentes défaillances
viscérales aiguës. Elle s’adresse aux malades graves et est actuellement considérée
comme un élément normal de l’arsenal thérapeutique. Les médecins et les soignants ont
démontré l’utilité ...de la présence permanente 24 heures/24 et 7 jours/7 auprès des
malades graves d’une équipe hautement spécialisée. Ensemble, ils ont fait progresser les
techniques nécessaires à la prise en charge de ces malades : ventilation mécanique,
épuration extrarénale, surveillance et exploration cardiovasculaires... La réanimation
médicale née sur le terrain hospitalier a obtenu sa reconnaissance universitaire en 1969.
Le champ d’application de la réanimation s’étend à toute la pathologie et en particulier aux malades chirurgicaux. La distinction entre réanimation médicale et réanimation chirurgicale a été nécessaire pour une répartition raisonnable des tâches, surtout en
CHU, et aucunement en raison de connaissances pratiques et théoriques différentes. Cette distinction est obsolète, car il n’y a pas plusieurs façons de faire de la réanimation.
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Les directives 2021 de l’European Resuscitation Council (ERC - Conseil Européen de Réanimation) sont fondées sur une série de revues systématiques, sur la revue du champ d'application, et sur les mises à jour des évidences de sciences de l’ILCOR (International Liaison Commitee on Resuscit...ation). Elles présentent les directives les plus récentes, basées sur des données probantes, pour la pratique de la réanimation en Europe. Ces directives portent sur l’épidémiologie de l’arrêt cardiaque, le rôle que jouent les systèmes de secours pour sauver des vies, la réanimation chez l’adulte, tant en réanimation de base, qu'en réanimation avancée, la réanimation dans des circonstances spéciales, les soins postréanimation, les premiers secours, la réanimation néonatale et pédiatrique, l'éthique et l'enseignement.
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Recommandations formalisées d'experts
Sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and sexual harassment (SEAH) violate the rights and wellbeing of the people we serve and the people with whom we serve. Such behaviours are directly in opposition to WHO’s values and our abiding responsibility to do no harm. WHO uses the umbrella term “sexual mi...sconduct” to encompass the full spectrum of prohibited and unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature (including rape and sexual assault) as described in WHO’s 2023 Policy for preventing and addressing sexual misconduct (1). This is because all such acts are prohibited – whether perpetrated by WHO’s own personnel or by implementing partners – and therefore constitute misconduct. The term sexual misconduct is also easier to communicate and translate, as
victims and survivors do not always understand the complicated acronyms and definitions used by the United Nations (UN) and the humanitarian sector. However, we use the terms sexual misconduct and SEAH interchangeably as required when we interact with UN and other stakeholders.
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This project aimed to reduce the risk of vector-borne infection with Chagas disease by
controlling triatomine bugs, the vectors transmitting the parasite of Chagas disease, and
establishing an epidemiological surveillance system with community participation.
This analysis focused on the chronic form of HAT caused by T. b. gambiense, as it contributes to the majority of disease burden. Information from the literature review,
product development landscape, and stakeholder interviews was compiled to:
- Identify use cases and understand current diagnosti...c practices and tools associated with each use case.
- Analyze progress toward robust diagnostics for HAT across different biomarkers.
- Develop recommendations for steps to improve the availability, access, and adoption of HAT diagnostic tools.
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In one of his final essays, statesman and former United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan said, ‘Snakebite is the most important tropical disease you’ve never heard of’. Mr. Annan firmly believed that victims of snakebite envenoming should be recognised and afforded greater efforts at impro...ved prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation. During the last years of his life, he advocated strongly for the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the global community to give greater priority to this disease of poverty and its victims.
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The objectives of the meeting were:
1. To step up the commitment of national authorities and technical and financial partners toWHO’s elimination objective for g-HAT.
2. To share achievements, challenges and views on the elimination goal among countries and implementing partners.
3. To assess t...he status of critical technical aspects to be solved in research and development of drugs and diagnostic tools, epidemiology, vector control and animal reservoirs.
4. To define the mechanisms for strengthening and organizing collaboration and coordination among stakeholders.
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The objectives of the meeting were:
1. To update the current status of the disease transmission, country capacities and plans for tackling the disease.
2. To understand the epidemiology including disease distribution and risk, the models
for estimating under-detection, the geographical variati...ons of in clinical presentation,
the roles of domestic and wild animal reservoirs and the subsequent different
transmission patterns and control approaches, including vector control.
3. To update current research and development efforts for improving diagnostic and
treatment tools.
4. To define the goals for achieving the control of r-HAT, the need for a multisectoral
approach and to discuss the strategy for controlling r-HAT and the coordination
mechanisms.
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Snakebite envenoming affects millions of people worldwide annually and is a significant source of mortality. Preventing and treating the problem is complex and requires collaboration among the fields of public health, medicine, ecology, and laboratory science. After being removed from the category A... neglected tropical disease (NTD) list in 2013, snakebite envenoming was reinstated in 2017 in response to antivenom shortages and advocacy from researchers and international NGOs. In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) set a target to halve the number of deaths and cases of snakebite envenoming by 2030.
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Snakebite envenoming is a serious public health problem in Central America, where approximately 5,500 cases occur every year. Panama has the highest incidence and El Salvador the lowest. The majority, and most severe, cases are inflicted by the pit viper Bothrops asper (family Viperidae), locally kn...own as ‘terciopelo’, ‘barba amarilla’ or ‘equis’. About 1% of the bites are caused by coral snakes of the genus Micrurus (family Elapidae). Despite significant and successful efforts in Central America regarding snakebite envenomings in the areas of research, antivenom manufacture and quality control, training of health professionals in the diagnosis and clinical management of bites, and prevention of snakebites, much remains to be done in order to further reduce the impact of this medical condition. This essay presents seven challenges for improving the confrontation of snakebite envenoming in Central America. Overcoming these challenges demands a coordinated partnership of highly diverse stakeholders though inter-sectorial and inter-programmatic interventions.
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Taeniasis and cysticercosis caused by the parasite T. solium affect vulnerable populations,
mainly in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, where pigs (the intermediate host) roam
free and poor sanitation allows pigs access to human faeces.
As of 12 December 2022, over 645 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with COVID-19, with over 6.6 million deaths (4).
The Omicron variant, which emerged in late November 2021, and its subvariants, are now the dominant circulating viruses, contributing to the ongoing surge in several countr...ies (4). Vaccination has substantially reduced case numbers and hospitalizations in many countries,but limitations in global access to vaccines mean that many populations, including those in low- and middle-income countries, remain vulnerable. Even in vaccinated individuals, uncertainties remain about duration of protection and efficacy, and the degree of crossprotection with new variants.
There remains a need for more effective treatment and management for those affected by COVID-19. The pandemic – and the
explosion of both research and misinformation – has highlighted the need for trustworthy, accessible and regularly updated living
guidelines to place emerging findings into context and provide clear recommendations for clinical practice
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The WHO continuously reviews available data on SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. For this version, the global epidemiological
situation of the COVID-19 pandemic as of 21 January 2022 – at a time when the Omicron VOC had been identified in 171
countries across all six WHO Regions and was rapidly re...placing Delta worldwide – was considered Omicron has a substantial growth advantage, higher secondary attack rates and a higher observed reproduction number than Delta.
There is now significant evidence that immune evasion contributes to the rapid spread of Omicron. Other factors may be a shorter
serial interval (by about 0.8 to 1.2 days compared to Delta) and potential increased intrinsic transmission fitness . There is
growing evidence that with Omicron, there is lower vaccine effectiveness (VE) against infection and symptomatic disease soon after vaccination compared to Delta. There is also evidence of accelerated waning of VE over time of the primary series against infection and symptomatic disease for the studied vaccines. Further studies are required to better understand the drivers of transmission and declining incidence in various settings. These factors include the intrinsic transmission fitness properties of the virus, degree of immune evasion, vaccination coverage and level of vaccine-derived and post-infection immunity, levels of social mixing and degree of application of public health and social measures (PHSM).
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Rabies is fatal, vaccine-preventable disease responsible for an estimated 59,000 human deaths each year. Most cases are transmitted by dogs, and most deaths occur in underserved populations in Africa and Asia. Approximately 40% of deaths occur in children.
Rabies is entirely preventable, and vaccines, medicines, tools and technologies have long been available to prevent people from dying of dog-mediated rabies. Nevertheless, rabies still kills about 60 000 people a year, of whom over 40% are children under 15, mainly in rural areas of economically dis...advantaged countries in Africa and Asia. Of all human cases, up to 99% are acquired from the bite of an infected dog.
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Rabies is a devastating and societally important zoonotic disease, which is transmitted principally to humans through the bite of infected dogs. This acute, progressive viral encephalitis has the highest case fatality of any infectious disease and kills tens of thousands of people annually, with chi...ldren and impoverished communities being affected disproportionately.
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