This publication, the third module of a resource manual to support the training of planners and practitioners in managing flash flood risk, deals with structural measures. It presents bioengineering techniques, physical measures for slope stabilisation and erosion control, and physical measures for ...river training. It also presents the concept of integrated flood management as a component of integrated water resource management. It emphasizes that structural measures are most effective and sustainable when implemented together with appropriate non-structural measures. The manual is aimed at junior to mid-level professionals with a civil engineering background working on flash flood risk management at the district level.
Flash floods are among the most destructive natural disasters in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. Flash flood mitigation is generally addressed by community-based organisations, local non-governmental organisations, or district and local-level staff in government organisations. But these groups often lack adequate understanding of the processes causing flash floods and knowledge of flash flood risk management measures.
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Health ministries currently lack effective tools for monitoring and evaluation of schistosomiasis control programmes. Egg detection can be used, but the cost, challenges of obtaining samples, and the need for trained personnel and equipment limit the frequency of monitoring. The purpose of this TPP ...is to guide the development of new diagnostic tools to reliably measure when prevalence is above or below a cut-off of 10% in school-aged children. Communities remaining above 10% require annual MDA, while communities below 10% can reduce MDA frequency as long as < 10% prevalence can be maintained. However, the lack of a reliable test has hindered the development of maintenance strategies. The test is also needed to track changes of prevalence > 10% to ensure that annual MDA is reducing overall prevalence.
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Brucellosis is widespread in both humans and livestock in many developing countries. The authors have performed a series of epidemiological studies on brucellosis in agro-pastoral areas in Tanzania since 2015, with the aim of the disease control. Previously, the potential of a community-based brucel...losis control initiative, which mainly consisted of the sale of cattle with experience of abortion and vaccinating calves, was assessed as being effective and acceptable based on a quantitative approach. This study was conducted to investigate the feasibility of community-based brucellosis control program using participatory rural appraisals (PRAs) and key-informant interviews. Four PRAs were performed together with livestock farmers and livestock and medical officers in 2017. In the PRAs, qualitative information related to risky behaviors for human infection, human brucellosis symptoms, willingness to sell cattle with experience of abortion, and willingness to pay for calf vaccination were collected, and a holistic approach for a community-based disease control project was planned. All of the communities were willing to implement disease control measures. To avoid human infection, education, especially for children, was proposed to change risky behaviors. The findings of this study showed that community-based disease control measures are promising.
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Infection prevention and control measures for Ebola virus disease
Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) are public health measures that aim to prevent and/or control SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the community. As long as there is no effective and safe vaccine to protect those at risk of severe COVID-19, NPI are the most effective public health interventions against... COVID-19. These ECDC guidelines detail available options for NPI in various epidemiologic scenarios, assess the evidence for their effectiveness and address implementation issues, including potential barriers and facilitators.
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Antibiotic stewardship refers to coordinated efforts and activities that seek to measure and improve use of antibiotics. Implementation of ASPs has demonstrated positive public health and clinical impacts including reducing costs, lengths of hospital stays, and the burden of antibiotic resistance wh...ile maintaining or improving patient outcomes. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs in 2014, which outlines essential components for ASPs in hospitals and provides practical guidance for implementing a robust ASPin an acute care facility. Variations to the Core Elements have been developed to deal with the particular challenges in small, rural or critical access hospitals in the United States and in outpatient facilities and nursing homes.
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Contact tracing is a core public health response to COVID-19.Other measures include active case finding or physical distancing. In order to trace a contact, we first need to define what a ‘contact’ is.
The document is a pocket guide for establishing and operating a Cholera Treatment Center (CTC). It provides guidelines on selecting a location, triaging patients based on dehydration severity, infection control measures, and ensuring sufficient medical supplies. The guide emphasizes maintaining hygi...ene, proper waste management, and security while offering detailed protocols for treating moderate and severe cases of cholera. It is intended to support healthcare workers in efficiently managing cholera outbreaks.
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In response to the first cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) reported on the continent, many African Union Member States implemented large-scale public health and social measures (PHSM) rapidly. These measures were aimed at reducing transmission and the number of new cases being reported, p...rotecting the most vulnerable populations, and allowing time for countries to ramp up critical healthcare and diagnostic services. While these quick actions bought time for Member States, the negative socio-economic impacts are being felt widely, and countries are now exploring how best to ease these measures back while still managing the outbreak.
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Tools and resources for occupational safety and health professionals and state and local public health officials assessing manufacturing facilities.
Occupational safety and health professionals and state and local public health officials can use these tools to assess coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID...-19) infection prevention and control measures at manufacturing facilities, as well as these facilities’ overall hazard assessment and control plans
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No vaccines or drugs to prevent infection are available. The best way for travelers to prevent infection is to protect themselves from sand fly bites. To decrease the risk of being bitten, follow these preventive measures:
Avoid outdoor activities, especially from dusk to dawn, when sand flies ge...nerally are the most active.
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24 Nov. 2021; This guidance provides considerations and a series of options that can be used to inform country strategies to minimise risk associated with shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Re-use and reprocessing of single use PPE must be a last-resort temporary measure that is impl...emented only until stocks are replenished (2).This remains an area of active research and further updates to this evidence base are anticipated.
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This guidance provides considerations and a series of options that can be used to inform country strategies in managing any shortages of personal protective equipment.Re-use and reprocessing of single-use PPE must be a last resort temporary measure to be adopted until stocks are replenished. The WH...O and other agencies are currently conducting research about this and further guidance will likely become available soon.
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The document titled "Fason pou Gen Laviktwa sou Kolera" (How to Achieve Victory over Cholera) provides comprehensive guidelines on the clinical presentation and management of cholera, particularly in the context of the 2010 Haiti outbreak. It emphasizes rapid rehydration as a lifesaving measure, det...ailing protocols for both oral rehydration solutions (ORS) and intravenous (IV) fluids. The document outlines appropriate antibiotic treatments based on patient categories, underscores the importance of proper sanitation, and offers strategies for effective outbreak control. Additionally, it provides guidance on recognizing severe dehydration and the necessity of immediate medical intervention to reduce mortality associated with cholera.
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The threat posed by Zika virus infection highlights the need to reinforce preparedness arrangements for mosquito-borne diseases in EU/EEA countries, especially for pathogens transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.
The aim of this document is to highlight measures that can effectively red...uce the risk of importation and local transmission of pathogens transmitted by Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. The main diseases of concern in this context are Zika, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.
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The new treaty aims at eliminating all forms of illicit trade in tobacco products. It provides tools for preventing illicit trade by securing the supply chain, including by establishing an international tracking and tracing system, by countering illicit trade through dissuasive law enforcement measu...res and a suite of measures to enable international cooperation.
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The CDC document outlines five essential steps for preventing cholera. It emphasizes the importance of using treated water for drinking and food preparation, washing hands thoroughly with soap and safe water, cooking food thoroughly and consuming it while hot, using latrines or properly burying fec...es to avoid open defecation, and cleaning and disinfecting areas contaminated with feces using a solution of one part household bleach to nine parts water. These measures are critical to controlling and preventing the spread of cholera, especially in areas affected by outbreaks.
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The CDC document titled "KOLERA: Senk (5) Etap Debaz Yo Pou Prevansyon" outlines five essential steps for preventing cholera. It emphasizes the importance of using treated water for drinking and food preparation, washing hands thoroughly with soap and safe water, cooking food thoroughly and consumin...g it while hot, using latrines or properly burying feces to avoid open defecation, and cleaning and disinfecting areas contaminated with feces using a solution of one part household bleach to nine parts water. These measures are critical to controlling and preventing the spread of cholera, especially in areas affected by outbreaks.
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The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases detected and reported in each country is influenced by
many factors including limited access and/or utilization of healthcare and COVID-19 testing, limited
surveillance, lack of knowledge amongst the population about when to seek testing, an asymptomatic pres...entation, and other unknown issues. This is true in all countries of the world, and not Africa specific, however there are factors unique to Africa which may also affect the way the virus behaves there. COVID-19 prevalence data are critical for planning effective mitigation strategies and understandingthe true impact of the disease and relevant intervention measures in Africa, which might be quite different from regions with a different population age distribution or risk factor profile.
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Initial public health responses to control the pandemic focused on promoting protective behaviors among the general population, including frequent hand washing, physical distancing and the use of face masks in public spaces However, many saw these only as interim measures to reduce the spread of the... virus and hopes for a return to a sense of ‘ rested on the development of a safe and effective vaccine.
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