The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 118 events in the region. This week’s main articles cover the following events:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Togo
Measles in Chad
Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Équateur Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
TB remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, second only to COVID-19, and drug-resistant TB strains are still a major concern. In the fight against TB, urgent investment is critical, especially in the context of the ongoing pandemic.
DESIGN OF THIS CASE REPORT FORM (CRF)This CRF has 3 modules:Module 1to be completed on the first day of admission to the health centre.Module 2 to be completed daily during hospital stay for as many days as resources allow. Continue to follow-up patients who transfer between wards. Module 3 to be co...mpleted at discharge or death
more
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV‑2) causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has reached pandemic levels;
Patients with cardiovascular (CV) risk factors and established cardiovascular disease (CVD) represent a vulnerable population when suffering from COVID-19;
Patien...ts with cardiac injury in the context of COVID-19 have an increased risk of morbidity and mortality
more
nterim guidance, first issued 25 January 2021, updated 15 June 2021, updated 19 November 2021, updated 23 February 2022, updated 18 August 2022
Interim guidance 2 march 2021
Current use of drugs to prevent COVID-19 is variable, reflecting large-scale uncertainty. Numerous randomized trials of many different drugs are underway to inform practice. This first version of the Drugs to prevent COVID-19: A WHO living guideline contains new inform...ation and a recommendation on hydroxychloroquine. It follows the publication of six trials synthesized in a living network meta-analysis (NMA).
more
African Journal of Emergency Medicine
Volume 11, Issue 1, March 2021, Pages 165-170
This document aims to describe a minimum set of surveillance activities recommended at the national level to detect and monitor the relative prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 variants and outline a set of activities for the characterization and assessment of risk posed by these variants. A set of indicators ...is also provided to standardize monitoring and public reporting of variant circulation.
The document is primarily intended for national and sub-national public health authorities and partners who support implementation of surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 variants
more
The 2021 COVID-19 Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP) for AFR serves as a regional guide for a holistic public health response to COVID‑19 at regional, national and sub-national levels. The 2021
SPRP:
1. Builds upon the lessons learnt from the implementation of the 2020 SPRP and outl...ines a regional preparedness, response and recovery strategy for COVID‑19.
2. Has been adapted to reflect the Regional context including COVID-19 vaccination. It also considers epidemiological changes and recommen-dations emerging from the evaluation report of the 2020 SPRP4.
3. Highlights to Member States strategic preparedness and response actions to be sustained at national and sub-national levels, as well as the critical inter-agency and partner support required.
4. provides the indicative resource requirements to reinforce WHO planned interventions in the African Region to enhance countries’ capacities to suppress transmission, save lives and mitigate the impact of the pandemic on people and health systems.
5. Provides a road map for mitigating potential resurgence in the Region as economies reopen and ensure country level continuity of other essential health services.
more
This second edition of the Infection prevention and control in the context of coronavirus disease (COVID-19): A living guideline provides the most up to date technical guidance on mask use in community settings in the context of COVID-19.
In this edition, new information includes updated mask re...commendations for children in community settings including updated age specific recommendations, statements for children with disabilities and those at high risk for complications related to COVID-19 infection. Updated implementation considerations for mask use in school settings are also included.
This living guideline is being published using the MAGICApp online publishing platform https://app.magicapp.org/#/guideline/Lr2a8L , as well as in PDF copy on the WHO website.
more
Cases of monkeypox (MPX) acquired in the EU have recently been reported in nine EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands).
Monkeypox (MPX) does not spread easily between people. Human-to-human transmission occurs through close contact ...with infectious material from skin lesions of an infected person, through respiratory droplets in prolonged face-to-face contact, and through fomites. The predominance, in the current outbreak, of diagnosed human MPX cases among men having sex with men (MSM), and the nature of the presenting lesions in some cases, suggest transmission occurred during sexual intercourse
more
The Guidelines for the Prevention, Surveillance and Management of COVID-19 Infection amongst Health Care Workers (HCW) in Zimbabwe were developed to prevent, detect and manage HCW COVID-19 infection, an emerging pandemic affecting the whole world. The HCW is at the fore front of this pandemic, thus ...the need for standardised operating procedures is of utmost importance. These guidelines therefore seek to reduce the significant morbidity and mortality among the HCW, ultimately ensuring the reduction of the cost to the health care worker and the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) as a whole. The Ministry of Health and Child Care requires that all health care workers in various health care settings follow infection prevention and control procedures.
more
Este informe presenta los resultados obtenidos de la evaluación de la efectividad de las vacunas contra la COVID-19 en Chile utilizando la red de vigilancia centinela de infecciones respiratorias agudas graves (IRAG). Los resultados que se presentan en este informe provienen de los datos proporcion...ados por esta red para el periodo de enero a diciembre de 2021.
more
En Paraguay, la vacunación contra COVID-19 inició el 22 de febrero de 2021. Se han autorizado un total de siete vacunas: Bharat-Covaxin, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Sinopharm, Sputnik V- Gamaleya y CoronaVac-Sinovac. Los grupos prioritarios de vacunación están definidos según el Plan... Nacional de Vacunación contra COVID-19 en Paraguay
more
This document aims to provide guidance to countries in the identification of priority areas
for intervention as part of the Situational Analysis of their National Cholera Control or
Elimination Plans (NCPs).