Recent efforts to fight malaria in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) have yielded impressive results. According to the latest WHO estimates, the six GMS countries cut their malaria case incidence by an estimated 54% between 2012 and 2015. Malaria death rates fell by 84% over the same period.
I...n May 2015, GMS Ministers of Health adopted the WHO Strategy for malaria elimination in the Greater Mekong Subregion 2015-2030. Urging immediate action, the plan aims to eliminate P. falciparum malaria from the subregion by 2025 and all species of human malaria by 2030.
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The number of reported cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) consistently declined in recent weeks, with 14 new confirmed cases reported in North Kivu and Ituri provinces during the epidemiological week of 30 September through 6 October. At peak transmission in April 2019, there were 126 cases in the w...eek. Although the decline in case incidence is encouraging, it must be interpreted with caution as the situation remains highly contingent upon the level of access and security.
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Barriers to the prompt and effective diagnosis and treatment of malaria exist at both the community and health facility level. Household surveys measure malaria case management at the population level with standard indicators that assess treatment-seeking behavior, access to diagnostic testing, and ...access to appropriate treatment. Performance on these indicators varies widely from country to country. Among countries with Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) or Malaria Indicator Surveys (MIS) completed between 2014 and 2016, advice and treatment was sought for a median of 47% of children under age 5 with fever.
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The prevalence, availability, and use of antimalarial medicines (AMLs) were studied in six Cambodian provinces along the Thai-Cambodian border. The study was divided into two parts: the first looked at the quality of AMLs available in Pursat, Pailin, Battambang, Bantey Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey, and ...Preah Vihear and the second obtained information about the availability and use of AMLs.
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A GUIDE FOR HEALTH WORKERS AND AUTHORITIES IN NIGERIA
N Engl J Med 2018; 378:577-579; DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc1711583
A dose of oral vaccine provides effective short-term protection against cholera during an outbreak, a study in Zambia shows.
According to researchers, a shortage in the global stockpile of cholera vaccines meant that single-dose oral vacc...ination was necessary to tackle an outbreak in Lusaka, Zambia, in February 2016. The emergency vaccination campaign was implemented in April 2016, targeting more than 500,000 people in Lusaka’s overcrowded township areas.
The 2016 outbreak happened when Zambia had not reported a case of cholera in four years.
To determine the effectiveness of the single-dose cholera vaccine, the researchers enrolled 66 patients with confirmed cholera and 330 people without the disease who were neighbours of the patients.
According to the study the effectiveness of the single dose vaccination was about 90 per cent.
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Interactive site with case data and a map of locations affected
The household transmission investigation is a case-ascertained prospective study of all identified household contacts of a laboratory confirmed 2019-nCoV infection (see 2.2 Study population). It is intended to provide rapid and early information on the clinical, epidemiological and virological chara...cteristics of 2019-nCoV.
There are three primary objectives of this household transmission study:
To better understand the extent of transmission within a household by estimating the secondary infection rate for household contacts at an individual level, and factors associated with any variation in the secondary infection risk.
To characterize secondary cases including the range of clinical presentation, risk factors for infection, and the extent and fraction of asymptomatic infections.
To characterize serologic response following confirmed 2019-nCoV infection (highly encouraged, but optional depending on laboratory capacity and resources)
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From this website you can download the technical guidance, Interim case reporting form for 2019 Novel Coronavirus of confirmed and probable cases ; Template for line listing in Excel format and Data dictionary in Excel format .
The documents are available in Arabic, Chinese, Englisch, French, Rus...sian, Portuguese, Spanish
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The purpose of this document is to provide interim guidance to laboratories and stakeholders involved in laboratory testing of patients who meet the definition of suspected case of pneumonia associated with a novel coronavirus identified in Wuhan, China.
19 March 2020
India reported its 1st case of COVID-19 on 30th January, 2020. It was a travel related case from Wuhan, China. Since then (as on 29th March, 2020), 979 confirmed cases and 25 deaths have been reported from 27 States/UTs. Although there is no evidence to widespread community transmission, 20 existing... and 22 potential hotspots have been identified. The containment measures to break the cycle of transmission and clinical management of those affected would require large human resource (HR).
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Physical distancing measures are important to reduce COVID-19 transmission. However, when stringently applied, they can result in negative health and socio-economic impacts. This report draws on a rapid review of available literature, case studies from across Africa and expert knowledge to make reco...mmendations on adapting classic physical distancing measures to the contextual realities in Africa and on mitigating potential negative impacts.
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This document provides guidance on how to implement contact screening and chemoprophylaxis with single-dose rifampicin. The contents are logically ordered: counselling and obtaining consent, identification and listing of index case, listing of contacts, tracing of contacts, screening of contacts, ad...ministration of prophylactic drugs. Managerial aspects to undertake contact screeninig and chemoprophylaxis are also elaborated, including planning , training , supervision and drug management.
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Due to high routine vaccination coverage, overall counts of diphtheria case have significantly declined in the Western Pacific Region recently. However, diphtheria is still prevalent in several countries and areas of the Region and remains a public health issue due to its high case fatality rate.
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This Field Guide for Preparedness and Response to Diphtheria Outbreaks in the Western Pacific Region is a reference resource for Member States to develop national guidelines adapted to their local context. Countries may also use this Guide to facilitate outbreak preparedness and public health responses to reduce morbidity and mortality due to diphtheria.
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