Female Genital Schistosomiasis (FGS) is a gynaecological disease caused by Schistosoma haematobium, a parasitic worm that is acquired by skin contact with freshwater contaminated by schistosome cerceriae. Communities in which the infection is most endemic have limited access to clean water and healt...hcare services. Up to 150 million adolescent girls and women are estimated to be at risk of FGS and about 16–56 milion womens are living with FGS, with the majority of these in sub-Saharan Africa. The variability of these estimates points to the fact that this neglected tropical disease is not well studied and frequently not prioritized by local, regional, and global health policy makers.
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1st edition
This resource provides practical guidance for front line health workers responsible for the diagnosis, management and care of patients with these two diseases. Published in collaboration with the World Diabetes Foundation
This study examines the gendered impacts of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Liberia in the largest outbreak of EVD ever recorded. The findings are based on an extensive two-week desk study and one-week participatory field study conducted in January 2015 in the cities of Monrovia and Buchanan in Lib...eria
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Burkina Faso has approximately 10.5 million inhabitants and is divided into 30 provinces. The study took place in the districts of Tougan, Nouna, and Solenzo, in provinces Sourou and Kossi, in north-west Burkina Faso. There is one medical centre in every district capital and 6 to 14 health centres i...n the surrounding villages. Each health centre covers a population of 10 000 to 15 000. The staff of one health centre generally consists of one nurse, a nurse aid and a midwife as well as one drug vendor for the nearby village pharmacy. The health personnel are trained and paid by the state.
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Procurement and supply management activities are fundamental to consistent and reliable access to essential medicines and health products. To reduce the impact of CVD, action needs to be taken to improve prevention, diagnosis, care and management of CVD diseases. Affordable essential medicines and t...echnologies to manage CVD disease must be available where and when they are required. Medicines and technologies need to be managed appropriately to ensure that the correct medicines are selected, procured in the right quantities, distributed to facilities in a timely manner, and handled and stored in a way that maintains their quality. This needs to be backed up by policies that enable sufficient quantities to be procured in order to reduce cost inefficiencies, ensure the reliability and security of the distribution system, and encourage the appropriate use of these health products. In order to avoid stock-outs and the disruption of treatment, all related activities need to be conducted in a timely manner, with performance continually monitored, and prompt action taken in response to problems that may arise. Additionally, medication must be dispensed correctly and used rationally by the healthcare provider and patient alike. The purpose of this guide is to explain the necessary steps.
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Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease 2017, 2(4), 50
This is a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data in a longitudinal study on asymptomatic, LF antigen-positive and -negative young people in Myanmar. Rapid field screening was used to identify antigen-positive cases and a group of antige...n-negative controls of similar age and gender were invited to continue in the study. ... Results demonstrate that sub-clinical changes associated with infection can be detected in asymptomatic cases. Further exploration of these low-cost devices in clinical and research settings on filariasis-related lymphedema are warranted.
https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed2040050
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The recommendations in these guidelines promote the use of simple, non-invasive diagnostic tests to assess the stage of liver disease and eligibility for treatment; prioritize treatment for those with most advanced liver disease and at greatest risk of mortality; and recommend the preferred use of n...ucleos(t)ide analogues with a high barrier to drug resistance (tenofovir and entecavir, and entecavir in children aged 2–11 years) for first- and second-line treatment. Recommendations for the treatment of HBV/HIV-coinfected persons are based on the WHO 2013 Consolidated guidelines on the use of antiretroviral drugs for treating and preventing HIV infection, which will be updated in 2015.
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In 1997, the Fiftieth World Health Assembly adopted resolution WHA50.29 on the elimination of
lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem. Preliminary guidance from WHO printed in 2011 referred to “verification” as the official process by which the achievements of the Global Programme to El...iminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) would be confirmed. For the sake of harmonization, the terminology now used for elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem is “validation”. In 2015, the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Neglected Tropical Diseases endorsed standardized processes for confirming and acknowledging success for all neglected tropical diseases targeted for eradication, elimination of transmission, or elimination as a public health problem.
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By end of March 2022:
42 COVID-19 detection laboratories were assessed in the 1st Quarter 2022.
23 (55%) Labs are reported fully functional, while 19 (45%) requires assistance to fully operate (i.e., medical supplies, equipment, maintenance, and staffing).
34 (89%) labs have RT-...PCR machines, while 4 (11%) doesn’t have.
Most laboratories operate 1 shift of 8 hours 13 (34%), followed by 2 shifts of 16 hours 11 (29%).
Over 1000 testing capacity per day is reported in Tripoli Biotechnical Centre Lab (5,000), Azzawya NCDC Lab (2,500), Tripoli NCDC public health lab (1500), Misrata NCDC Lab (1,300), and Misrata Medical centre Lab (1,300).
The reported needs ranked per priority are equipment, consumables, and staff training; consequently.
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COVID-19 Vaccines: 1 Safety Surveillance 2 Manual
While there is no indication that pregnant women have an increased susceptibility to infection with SARS-CoV-2, there is evidence that pregnancy may increase the risk of severe illness and mortality from COVID-19 disease in comparison with non-pregn...ant women of reproductive age. As seen with non-pregnant women, a high proportion of pregnant women have asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe disease is associated with recognized medical (e.g., high body-mass index (BMI), diabetes, pre-existing pulmonary or cardiac conditions) and social (e.g., social deprivation, ethnicity) risk factors. Pregnant women with symptomatic COVID-19 appear to have an increased risk of intensive care unit admission, mechanical ventilation and death in comparison with non-pregnant women of reproductive age, although the absolute risks remain low. COVID-19 may increase the risk of preterm birth, compared with pregnant women without COVID-19, although the evidence is inconclusive.
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The aim is to provide early detection of potentially infected persons; to assist in implementing WHO recommendations related to Ebola management; and to prevent the international spread of the disease while allowing PoE authorities to avoid unnecessary restrictions and delays
Cholera remains a significant public health threat in many countries worldwide. In resource-constrained settings, it disproportionately affects thousands of poor and vulnerable population
This section deals with implementing and improving infection control practices in hospitals, health centres and other health services in the outbreak area. It explains the need for, and implementation of, effective triage procedures, and basic requirements for infection control and supporting activi...ties. Further guidance can be found in the MSF Infection Control Guideline
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The Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Assessment Framework (IPCAF) is a tool to support the implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines on core components of IPC programmes at the acute health care facility level. The user should be familiar with the contents of these guide...lines, including the Interim practical manual supporting the implementation of the IPC core components at the facility level before using this tool. The IPCAF is a systematic tool that can provide a baseline assessment of the IPC programme and activities within a health care facility, as well as ongoing evaluations through repeated administration to document progress over time and facilitate improvement.
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The WHO Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) Clinical management: living guidance contains the Organization’s most up-to-date recommendations for the clinical management of people with EVD. Providing guidance that is comprehensive and holistic for the optimal care of patients with EVD throughout their il...lness is important.
The living guidance is available in both pdf format (via the ‘Download’ button) and via an online platform in both French and English, and is updated regularly as new evidence emerges.
This first version of the Clinical management for EVD living guidance contains four new recommendations regarding use of therapeutics for EVD, this includes two strong recommendations for the use of monoclonal antibody therapies. This new living guideline is written to accompany the optimized supportive care (oSoC) for EVD standard operating procedures (5, 6). The living guideline aims to summarize high quality evidence for EVD therapeutics and make recommendations for their use.
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Occupational health and safety programmes aim to prevent diseases and injuries arising out of, linked with or occurring in the course of work, while improving the quality and safety of care, safeguarding the health workforce and promoting environmental sustainability in the health sector.
This gu...ide provides an overview of the key elements of occupational health and safety programmes for health workers at national, subnational and facility levels, as well as advice for the development and implementation of such programmes. Health workers exposure risk assessment and management in the context of COVID-19 virus
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This manual summarizes key issues related to the safety of NTD medicines and their administration, with a focus on essential medicines used in mass drug administration (MDA), also called preventive chemotherapy. It can be used as a standalone reference manual, but is intended to be used in conjuncti...on with the accompanying training modules, which provide practical instruction, and the aide-mémoires. Versions of the aide-mémoires and training modules are available respectively for both (i) programme managers and district-level health officials and (ii) community drug distributors and community health workers
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Throughout the gestational period, it is important for obstetric health care facilities to strengthen health counselling, screening, and follow-ups for pregnant women, while incorporating screening, hand hygiene practice, good respiratory etiquette and infection prevention control precautions. These... screening procedures will help determine individualised precautions necessary, such as the wearing of face masks during consultations.
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The document "Priority medical devices list for the COVID-19 response and associated technical specifications" complements this guideline.
This document provides interim guidance on the quality, performance characteristics and related standards of personal protective equipment (PPE) to be used i...n the context of COVID-19. This includes WHO Priority Medical Devices, specifically: surgical masks, non-surgical masks, gloves, googles, face shields, gowns and N95 masks. It is intended for procurement agencies, occupational health departments, infection prevention and control departments or focal points, health facility administrators, biomedical and materials engineering, PPE manufacturers and public health authorities at both national and facility levels.
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Water is the lifeblood of planetary health and human civilisation. As a critical source of fresh water, rivers underpin civilisations, past and present. However, rivers constantly change in response to environmental and human pressures. Protecting global river systems from climate change and other a...nthropogenic activities (e.g., mining, pollution, dam construction), and understanding the interactions with human health (e.g., through the spread of water-borne and infectious diseases) has become a critical concern.
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