The main objective of this guidance is to provide scientific advice on public health principles and considerations for infection and prevention control of COVID-19 in migrant and refugee reception and detention centres in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) and the United Kingdom ...(UK).
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This booklet is recommended for all health workers who diagnose and treat leprosy, especially those at the first referral level such as a health centre. It contains more detail than the WHO Guide to Eliminate Leprosy as a Public Health Problem. The Guide gives practical advice on how to diagnose lep...rosy and how to give the correct treatment, and basic information on how to recognise and manage leprosy reactions.e
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April 2022 Volume 35 Issue 2 e00152-21
Population movements have turned Chagas disease (CD) into a global public health problem. Despite the successful implementation of subregional initiatives to control vectorial and transfusional Trypanosoma cruzi transmission in Latin American settings where t...he disease is endemic, congenital CD (cCD) remains a significant challenge. In countries where the disease is not endemic, vertical transmission plays a key role in CD expansion and is the main focus of its control. Although several health organizations provide general protocols for cCD control, its management in each geopolitical region depends on local authorities, which has resulted in a multitude of approaches. The aims of this review are to (i) describe the current global situation in CD management, with emphasis on congenital infection, and (ii) summarize the spectrum of available strategies, both official and unofficial, for cCD prevention and control in countries of endemicity and nonendemicity. From an economic point of view, the early detection and treatment of cCD are cost-effective. However, in countries where the disease is not endemic, national health policies for cCD control are nonexistent, and official regional protocols are scarce and restricted to Europe. Countries of endemicity have more protocols in place, but the implementation of diagnostic methods is hampered by economic constraints. Moreover, most protocols in both countries where the disease is endemic and those where it is not endemic have yet to incorporate recently developed technologies. The wide methodological diversity in cCD diagnostic algorithms reflects the lack of a consensus. This review may represent a first step toward the development of a common strategy, which will require the collaboration of health organizations, governments, and experts in the field.
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The ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) is a weekly bulletin for epidemiologists and health professionals on active public health threats. This issue covers the period 5-11 November 2017 and includes updates on measles, rubella, chikungunya, West Nile virus, Plague, monkeypox, legionnair...es's disease, influenza and Marburg virus disease.
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Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2021;45:e74.
Some characteristics of patients and healthcare providers influence treatment success in MDR-TB cases. Physicians’ and nurses’ knowledge about MDR-TB must be improved, and follow-up of MDR-TB patients who are living with HIV and of those affiliated with the... subsidized health insurance scheme in Colombia must be strengthened, as these patients have a lower likelihood of a successful treatment outcome.
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As the world recovers from the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic and reflects on lessons learnt from failure of global public health systems to contain the global outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, new infectious disease threats, caused by movement of people globally, remain omnipresent, and repeated calls for mo...re proactive action go unheeded. This is aptly shown by the unprecedented and unexpected outbreaks of human monkeypox cases and clusters since May 7, 2022, across Europe, the Americas, and Australia,
which yet again, have taken global public authorities by surprise.
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The objective of the study was the validation and implementation of GeneXpert MTB/RIF for routine use in the rapid detection of tuberculosis and sensitivity to rifampicin in clinical samples; for this, 1592 respiratory samples were collected and analyzed in the laboratory of Instituto Nacional de In...vestigación en Salud Pública Guayaquil. The analysis of the results of GeneXpert in comparison with smear microscopy showed an initial sensitivity of 99.8% and specificity of 93.2%; The analysis of discrepancies using the results of the culture as a reference method showed that the GeneXpert results considered false negatives turned out to be true negatives, the same happens with the false positives that correspond to true positives. Recalculated the sensitivity and specificity of the GeneXpert was 99.8% and 100% correspondingly. The comparison with the drugs susceptibility test showed a sensitivity of 91.4% and a specificity of 95.5% for the GeneXpert MTB/RIF system. It is concluded that the implementation of the GeneXpert system allows solution to certain problems associated with the application of conventional diagnostic methodologies, decreasing the waiting times, and increasing the sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of drug-resistant tuberculosis, thus generating a valuable opportunity for early diagnosis.
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R4D conducted a thorough desk review and qualitative fiscal space analysis, 19 interviews about financing for the three diseases and the extent of alignment between public financial management systems and health policy objectives, and a validation workshop with government officials.
Tanzania’...s disease response faces a triple transition challenge: replacing donor funding, closing the resource gap that would exist even with donor funding, and more efficiently delivering on disease response objectives.
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The ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) is a weekly bulletin for epidemiolgists and health professionals on active public health threats. This issue covers the period 7-13 August 2016 and includes updates on Zika virus, yellow fever in Angola, polio, MERS CoV and West Nile virus.
The arrival and rapid spread of the mosquito-borne viral disease Chikungunya across the Americas is one of the most significant public health developments of recent years, preceding and mirroring the subsequent spread of Zika. Globalization in trade and travel can lead to the importation of these vi...ruses, but climatic conditions strongly affect the efficiency of transmission in local settings. In order to direct preparedness for future outbreaks, it is necessary to anticipate global regions that could become suitable for Chikungunya transmission. Here, we present global correlative niche models for autochthonous Chikungunya transmission. These models were used as the basis for projections under the representative concentration pathway (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 climate change scenarios. In a further step, hazard maps, which account for population densities, were produced. The baseline models successfully delineate current areas of active Chikungunya transmission. Projections under the RCP 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios suggest the likelihood of expansion of transmission-suitable areas in many parts of the world, including China, sub-Saharan Africa, South America, the United States and continental Europe. The models presented here can be used to inform public health preparedness planning in a highly interconnected world.
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9 April 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic is presenting States in Europe with an extraordinary and unprecedented public health emergency. In response, States are taking necessary and legitimate measures to prevent the spread of the virus and to protect their populations. Some of these measures have been... taken within the framework of a declared state of emergency, based on specific national provisions governing emergency situations.
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7 April 2022. Aimed at national policymakers, public health and healthcare planners, staff working in reception centres, and healthcare staff caring for displaced persons, the information note concludes that universal testing of incoming refugees from Ukraine for tuberculosis (TB) infection is not r...ecommended. Specific groups, such as household contacts of bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary cases, or those who are immunocompromised should however be considered for TB infection testing.
Available in Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Slovakian, Ukranian
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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a threat to human and animal health and refers to the ability of microorganisms to defy the medicines prescribed. For instance when antibiotics are used improperly, such as an incorrect dose, insufficient duration or wrong frequency, resistance is heightened. The mi...suse of antimicrobials affects their efficacy, and increasingly more infections and diseases become untreatable. Many gains made in modern medicine throughout the 20th century will be lost, making AMR a global public and animal health issue that requires concerted action. AMR and the use of antimicrobials (AMU) affect food safety and security, people’s livelihoods, as well as economic and agricultural development.
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User GuideThe toolkit is composed of three sections: Hospital and Health System Resources - includes a readiness assessment tool, the starting point in developing or enhancing a successful Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP). The tool, a checklist developed by the CDC, should be shared with se...nior management, a senior leader for quality, purchasing directors, clinic managers, nurse managers, key physician leaders, risk managers, pharmacy leaders, infection preventionists and hospital epidemiologists, laboratory staff and information technology staff. For ease of use, it is divided into two sections, one for those just beginning a program, the other for those who wish to enhance an existing program. Clinician Resources - includes webinars, clinical evidence supporting appropriate use of antibiotics, implementation guides and related articles.Patient Resources - includes frequently asked questions, pamphlets and handouts on how patients can best engage in their care and resources on appropriate use of antibiotics.
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Mpox is an emerging zoonotic disease caused by the mpox virus, a member of the Orthopoxvirus genus closely related to the variola virus that causes smallpox. Mpox was first discovered in 1958 when outbreaks of a pox-like disease occurred in monkeys kept for research. The first human case was recorde...d in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during a period of intensified effort to eliminate smallpox and since then the infection has been reported in a number of African countries. Mpox can spread in humans through close contact, usually skin-to-skin contact, including sexual contact, with an infected person or animal, as well as with materials contaminated with the virus such as clothing, beddings and towels, and respiratory droplets in prolonged face to face contact. People remain infectious from the onset of symptoms until all the lesions have scabbed and healed. The virus may spread from infected animals through handling infected meat or through bites or scratches. Diagnosis is confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of material from a lesion for the virus’s DNA. Two separate clades of the mpox virus are currently circulating in Africa: Clade I, which includes subclades Ia and Ib, and Clade II, comprising subclades IIa and IIb. Clade Ia and Clade Ib have been associated with ongoing human-to-human transmission and are presently responsible for outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), while Clade Ib is also contributing to outbreaks in Burundi and other countries.
In 2022‒2023 mpox caused a global outbreak in over 110 countries, most of which had no previous history of the disease, primarily driven by human-to-human transmission of clade II through sexual contact. In just over a year, over 90,000 cases and 150 deaths were reported to the WHO. For the second time since 2022, mpox has been declared a global health emergency as the virus spreads rapidly across the African continent. On 13 Aug 2024, Africa CDC declared the ongoing mpox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS), marking the first such declaration by the agency since its inception in 2017.7 This declaration empowered the Africa CDC to lead and coordinate responses to the mpox outbreak across affected African countries. On August 14, 2024, the WHO declared the resurgence of mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) emphasizing the need for coordinated international response.
As of August 2024, Mpox has expanded beyond its traditional endemic regions, with new cases reported in countries including Sweden, Thailand, the Philippines, and Pakistan. Sweden has confirmed its first case of Clade 1 variant, which has been rapidly spreading in Africa, particularly in DRC. The emergence of this new variant raises concerns about its potential for higher lethality and transmission rates outside Africa.
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16 Dec. 2020
This document provides guidance to Ministries of Health (MOHs), laboratory personnel and implementing partners in African Union Member States on the application of rapid antigen tests to COVID-19 testing. The guidance serves as reference for policymakers, laboratory leads, implementing... partners, and experts on use case scenarios and associated testing algorithms for COVID-19 antigen tests. It recommends the use of antigen tests to increase access to testing and enable timely results for persons with or without symptoms in specific settings. The document will be reviewed and updated as more evidence becomes available regarding the use of rapid antigen tests for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from global studies and evaluation efforts.
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Environment International Volume 86, January 2016, Pages 14-23
Climate change refers to long-term shifts in weather conditions and patterns of extreme weather events. It may lead to changes in health threat to human beings, multiplying existing health problems. This review examines the scientific e...vidences on the impact of climate change on human infectious diseases. It identifies research progress and gaps on how human society may respond to, adapt to, and prepare for the related changes. Based on a survey of related publications between 1990 and 2015, the terms used for literature selection reflect three aspects — the components of infectious diseases, climate variables, and selected infectious diseases. Humans' vulnerability to the potential health impacts by climate change is evident in literature. As an active agent, human beings may control the related health effects that may be effectively controlled through adopting proactive measures, including better understanding of the climate change patterns and of the compound disease-specific health effects, and effective allocation of technologies and resources to promote healthy lifestyles and public awareness. The following adaptation measures are recommended: 1) to go beyond empirical observations of the association between climate change and infectious diseases and develop more scientific explanations, 2) to improve the prediction of spatial–temporal process of climate change and the associated shifts in infectious diseases at various spatial and temporal scales, and 3) to establish locally effective early warning systems for the health effects of predicated climate change.
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Drugs and medical supplies are dispensed at the cutting edge level of the interface between the public health system and the people. Availability or lack of it brings either credit or discredit to the public health system. The primary reason for holding stocks of medicines and medical supplies in a ...proper scientific manner is to ensure continuous and uninterrupted availability to prevent stock-outs, especially of critical items of supply while at the same time ensuring that stocks of medicines do not get expired. An efficient inventory management is a pre-requisite for optimal stock management. It enables the management of health facilities to know the current pattern of consumption of drug trends over a period of time and also variances. The environmental control of the drugs and other medical supplies play an important role to keep the products' efficacy intact. Some medicines and vaccines need special storage temperature, otherwise, there may be wastage. The quality of the medicines can be adversely affected by poor storage, transportation and distribution. Thus, maintaining proper storage condition for health commodities is vital for ensuring their quality. So, by this training, CDMU wants to educate different people dealing with medicines and equip them for the roles they have to perform efficiently so that the wastage does not take place or can be minimized.
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The COVID-19 Pakistan Preparedness and Response Plan (PPRP) outlines the international assistance required by the Government of Pakistan (GoP) to stop the transmission of the pandemic and respond to the emerging public health needs in Pakistan. It is created in line with the Pakistan National Action... Plan. It aims to steer a coordinated international effort in consultation with Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) to support the Ministry of Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (M/O NHSRC), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Provincial Departments of Health, PDMAs under the overall efforts of the Government of Pakistan (GoP). It is prepared with the support of the UN and is guided by the WHO Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP).
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The document is intended to facilitate the detection, evaluation and management of incident EVD cases in Germany. It primarily addresses public health service staff and health care workers in hospitals, outpatient clinics and emergency services in Germany. It is a work in progress, intended to evolv...e over time. Updated 14 August 2015
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