This document is intended to serve as a reference for national public health policy-makers. It outlines the scope of potential meningitis surveillance strategies that make it possible to obtain the data required for epidemic detection, monitoring of epidemiological and microbiological trends, evalua...tion of meningitis control strategies and assessment of the impact of Nm A conjugate vaccine. Ultimately, it provides information that can be used to decide on a surveillance strategy that is tailored to the needs and capacity of a country.
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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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The waves of yellow fever transmission in the Region of the Americas in 2016–2018 involved the largest number of human and epizootic cases to be reported in several decades. Yellow fever is a serious viral hemorrhagic disease that poses a challenge for health professionals. It requires early recog...nition of signs and symptoms, which are often nonspecific, and it can mimic other acute febrile syndromes. Early detection of suspected or confirmed cases, monitoring of vital signs, life support measures, and treatment of acute kidney failure continue to be the recommended strategies for case management. This report is the result of discussions among experienced specialists in the Americas on the clinical management of yellow fever patients, especially during outbreaks and epidemics, in the context of current medical and scientific evidence and taking into account the technical guidelines already available in the countries of the Region. It includes flowcharts for initially addressing patients with clinical suspicion of yellow fever and proposes a minimum package of laboratory tests that may be useful in contexts where resources are limited. In addition, it considers aspects of health system organization for dealing with yellow fever outbreaks and epidemics.
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An international field study by African and German Theologicans and health workers
Despite high regional demand for vaccines valued at over US$ 1 billion annually, Africa’s vaccine industry provides only 0.1% of global supply. Vaccine inequity and hoarding at the start of the pandemic, which resulted in delays in obtaining COVID-19 doses, stimulated new resolve to address future... supply security. In 2021, the AU set a target to produce and supply more than 60% of the vaccine doses on the continent by 2040.
In the last 18 months alone, more than 30 new African manufacturing projects have been announced and estimates indicate that the African vaccine market across all existing and projected novel products could range between US$ 2.8 billion and US$ 5.6 billion by 2040*, demonstrating the potential for a thriving regional industry to emerge.
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Background: Several studies have demonstrated that South African children and adolescents are
exposed to high levels of violent trauma with a significant proportion developing PTSD, however,
limited resources make it difficult to accurately identify traumatized children.
Conclusions: Our result...s indicate that trauma exposure and PTSD are prevalent in South African
youth and if appropriate cut-offs are used, self-report scales may be useful screening tools for
PTSD.
Annals of General Psychiatry 2005, 4:2doi:10.1186/1744-859X-4-2
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The "Stories from the field" document by the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean shares effective strategies from the Eastern Mediterranean Region for addressing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health challenges, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights regio...nal success stories in mitigating NCDs and mental health conditions through innovative, country-specific interventions. The report emphasizes multisectoral collaboration, community engagement, and resilience in public health responses. It aims to inspire further action and knowledge-sharing to enhance health outcomes in challenging settings across the region.
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Relevance and effectiveness of World Bank support for public sector capacity building in Sub-Saharan Africa from 1995 to 2004. Benin is part of a six country case study.
MICROBIAL DRUG RESISTANCEVolume 24, Number 5, 2018ªMary Ann Liebert, Inc.DOI: 10.1089/mdr.2017.0383
Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is a worldwide publichealth concern, with serious health, economic, and so-cietal repercussions. Its emergence is attributed to the se-lective pressure exerted by antib...iotic use in the community, hospitals, veterinary health, agriculture, aquaculture, and the environment. Additionally aggravating the situation is the fact that very few new antibiotics have recently been produced by pharmaceutical companies. It is widely acknowledged that food animals are key reservoirs of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and that antibiotic usage in this population favors the emergence, selection, and spread of resistance among animals and humans, both through zoonoses (infectious diseases trans-mitted between animals and humans) and the food chain.
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This report provides a review and analysis of the research landscape for three diseases – Chagas disease, human African trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis – that disproportionately afflict poor and remote populations with limited access to health services. It represents the work of the disease re...ference group on Chagas Disease, Human African Trypanosomiasis and Leishmaniasis (DRG3) which was established to identify key research priorities through review of research evidence and input from stakeholders' consultations.
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DHS Analytical Studies No. 39
HAT diagnosis relies on laboratory techniques because clinical signs and symptoms are unspecific. Serodiagnostic tests exist only for Tbg and are based on the detection of specific antibodies, thus they are not confirmatory of infection. With the current low disease prevalence, the positive predicti...ve value of serological tests is particularly low. Field-applicable tools include the card agglutination test for trypanosomiasis (CATT) used mainly in active screening by specialized mobile teams, and the rapid diagnostic tests that are more suitable for individual testing at point-of-care.
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Parasites Vectors 14, 50 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-020-04555-8
This report aims to improve the assessment of mental health needs in the Americas by providing an updated and nuanced picture of: (a) the disability resulting from mental, substance use, and specific neurological disorders, plus self-harm, alone and in combination with premature mortality; (b) the i...mbalance between mental health spending and its related disease burden; and (c) the inadequate allocation of the meager mental health spending by countries of the Region
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El objetivo de esta nota conceptual y del marco que describe es la eliminación de un grupo de enfermedades transmisibles y los efectos negativos sobre la salud que generan que juntos crean una carga tangible en las personas afectadas, sus familias y comunidades, y en los sistemas de atención de sa...lud en toda la Región. Aunque no hay consenso sobre las mejores medidas que se deben usar para la salud de las personas y de acuerdo con la situación epidemiológica de un país, es habitual medir la carga de enfermedad mediante las tasas de enfermedad (incidencia, prevalencia, etc.), las tasas de mortalidad por enfermedad específica, las tasas de morbilidad y mortalidad comparativas, la distribución geográfica y los años de vida ajustados en función de la discapacidad (AVAD)…. Se analiza la situación epidemiológica actual, incluidos los datos sobre tasas de enfermedad o distribución geográfica para las enfermedades del cuadro 1. Hotez et al. (2008) fueron los primeros en examinar y comparar la carga de los AVAD en América Latina y el Caribe para las ETD, la infección por el VIH/sida, la malaria y la tuberculosis como era hace unos diez años atrás. Aunque la carga regional de tuberculosis, malaria y enfermedades infecciosas desatendidas (EID) es algo menor a la de hace diez años, se sigue perdiendo la posibilidad de trabajar (y de asistir a la escuela) debido a la enfermedad y muerte prematura o discapacidad, y la necesidad de acelerar los esfuerzos para eliminar las enfermedades es evidente en todas las comunidades en situación de vulnerabilidad.
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