The HIV drug resistance report 2021 summarizes findings from 38 countries that had finalized the surveys by the time of this report and shared data with WHO.
Pretreatment HIVDR to non-nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI) can affect more than 10% of adults starting therapy and is fo...und up to 3 times more often in people who had previous exposure to antiretroviral drugs. In addition, nearly half of infants newly diagnosed with HIV has HIVDR to NNRTI before initiating treatment.The high levels of observed NNRTI pretreatment HIVDR among emphasize the need to fast-track the transition to WHO-recommended dolutegravir-based ART.
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Enabling young children to achieve their full developmental potential is a human right and an essential requisite for sustainable development. Given the critical importance of enabling children to make the best start in life, the health sector, among other sectors, has an important role and responsi...bility to support nurturing care for early childhood development. This guideline provides direction for strengthening policies and programmes to better address early childhood development.
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Ramped-up cancer services could save 7 million lives over the next decade—and addressing huge service gaps between rich and poor countries is key to success, according to this report.
In 2019, over 90% of high-income countries reported that comprehensive cancer treatment services were available... through the public health system, compared to fewer than 15% of low-income countries, according to WHO.
But poorer countries can make substantial strides with a universal health coverage approach and use of the latest science to meet their particular needs.
The report lays out proven ways to prevent new cancer cases without breaking the bank, including tobacco-control measures and vaccines that protect against common cancers.
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Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV).1
It causes a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes, fever, headache, muscle ache, back pain and low energy or feeling sick. In most cases, the symptoms of mpox go away within a few weeks with supportive care.... In some people, the illness can be severe
or lead to complications and even death.
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WHO TRS N°1012.
Key updates include: (i) surveillance strategies, including cross-sectoral linking of systems and suitable diagnostics; (ii) the latest recommendations on human and animal immunization; (iii) palliative care in lowresource settings; (iv) risk assessment to guide management of bite... victims; and (v) a proposed process for validation and verification of countries reaching zero human deaths from rabies.
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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi.
AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections ha...rder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. As a result, the medicines become ineffective and infections persist in the body, increasing the risk of spread to others.
Antimicrobials - including antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics - are medicines used to prevent and treat infections in humans, animals and plants. Microorganisms that develop antimicrobial resistance are sometimes referred to as “superbugs”.
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WHO recommends artemisinin-based combination therapies for treating uncomplicated malaria, alongside studies to monitor treatment effectiveness. Given the threat of antimalarial resistance, including partial resistance in several African countries, molecular tools are vital for tracking resistance. ...In 2015, WHO launched the External Quality Assessment scheme for nucleic acid amplification testing to ensure reliable lab results. Coordinated by WHO and operated by the United Kingdom National External Quality Assessment Service for Parasitology, the scheme provides quality-controlled specimens and reports to help improve testing accuracy. Experts recently discussed expanding the scheme to include antimalarial resistance markers.
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Offering additional pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) choices has the potential to increase uptake and effective use of PrEP, and of HIV prevention overall, as it allows people to choose a method that they prefer.
In this guideline, WHO recommends an offering long-acting injectable lenacapavir (LEN...) as an additional HIV prevention choice, as part of combination HIV prevention approaches. LEN, administered twice a year as PrEP, has been shown to be highly effective at reducing the risk of HIV acquisition. In this guideline, WHO also recommends using HIV rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for individuals initiating or continuing long-acting injectable PrEP, such as LEN and long acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA). Flexible HIV testing approaches are essential for ensuring that testing does not become a barrier to accessing or continuing PrEP, including long-acting injectable options.
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The Practical manual on laboratory strengthening, 2022 update provides practical guidance on implementation of WHO recommendations and best practices for TB laboratory strengthening. It is an updated version of the GLI Practical Guide to Laboratory Strengthening published in 2017 and provides the la...test practical guidance on use of newly recommended diagnostics as well as guidance in key technical areas, including quality assurance and quality management systems, specimen collection and registration, procurement and supply-chain management, diagnostic connectivity, biosafety, data management, human resources, strategic planning, and model algorithms. The key changes are:
inclusion of recent or updated WHO recommendations for tests to diagnose TB and detect drug resistance;
alignment with the latest WHO critical concentrations for phenotypic drug-susceptibility testing (DST) and the new definitions of pre-XDR-TB and XDR-TB;
updated information on building quality-assured TB testing and management capacity using the Stepwise Laboratory Quality Improvement Process Towards Accreditation (SLIPTA) approach (Score-TB package1);
updated information on assessing, analysing and optimising TB diagnostic networks; and
updated information on the use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) to detect mutations associated with drug resistance for surveillance purposes.
The document also provides references to resources and tools relevant for work on laboratory strengthening.
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9 March 2022, Timely and accurate diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2 is an essential part of a comprehensive COVID-19 response strategy. Ag-RDTs can be performed by individuals in which they collect their own specimen, perform a simple rapid test and interpret their test result themselves at a time a...nd place of their choosing, termed COVID-19 self-testing. This interim guidance provides a new recommendation that COVID-19 self-testing, using SARS-CoV-2 Ag-RDTs, should be offered as part of SARS-CoV-2 testing services. It also includes implementation considerations that can guide decisions on whether, and how, to adopt self-testing in different contexts, including the populations being prioritized; the disease prevalence in that population; and the impact on accessibility of testing, health care services and result reporting.
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Zika virus is primarily transmitted by the Aedes species of mosquito which is also responsible for the spread of dengue, Chikungunya and yellow fever viruses. In most areas, the primary vector of these viruses is Aedes aegypti, with Aedes albopictus a proven or potential vector in some settings. Wel...l-implemented vector control against Aedes using existing tools effectively reduces the transmission of viruses spread by these vectors. Pilot studies are being undertaken on new tools which have potential for future reductions in Aedes populations
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This document provides interim recommendations for the surveillance of Zika virus infection, microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome, in four different contexts and describes reporting requirements to WHO. Transmission refers to vector-borne transmission, unless specified differently. Autochthonou...s infection is considered to be an infection acquired in-country, i.e. among patients with no history of travel during the incubation period or who have travelled exclusively to non-affected areas during the incubation period. This document does not provide guidance on laboratory investigation or vector surveillance.
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Prevention, early diagnosis, and effective treatment are essential for the control and elimination of Neisseria gonorrhoeae as a public health problem. Currently, in Latin America and the Caribbean, treatment for gonorrhea infection is largely empiric and based on clinical diagnosis. In the Americas..., the high burden of new N. gonorrhoeae infections (estimated at 11 million new cases a year), the complexity of the disease epidemiology, and in many countries the limited resources, make it difficult to fully understand the burden of disease and the burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in N. gonorrhoeae.
PAHO has developed this document to facilitate the navigation of available guidance and recommendations for N. gonorrhoeae AMR surveillance by public health and health care professionals, at the national and subnational levels, involved in designing, implementing, and/or strengthening AMR surveillance of N. gonorrhoeae and overall surveillance of sexually transmitted infections.
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Development of one or more vaccines for Neisseria gonorrhoeae is an important objective for sexual and reproductive health worldwide, and for the fight against antimicrobial resistance.
WHO preferred product characteristics (PPCs) provide strategic guidance as to WHO’s preferences for new vacci...nes in priority disease areas. PPCs are intended to encourage innovation and development of vaccines for use in settings most relevant to the global unmet public health need.
Gonococcal vaccine PPCs describe global public health goals for gonococcal vaccines and preferred parameters pertaining to vaccine indications and target populations, safety and efficacy considerations, and immunization strategies.
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Novel coronavirus will disproportionately impact world’s 70 million displaced people
Report recommends stopping asylum seeker deportations, prioritising hygiene and refugee camp decongestion, better communication
Displaced people must be included in prevention, mitigation efforts - for s...ake of everyone’s health
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This publication is a companion document to the NDVP National Deployment and Vaccination Plans guidance, which provides a framework for countries to develop their national strategies. As countries face challenges with erratic vaccine supplies, use of multiple vaccine products with different charact...eristics, and the size of populations and their diversity, this document provides operational guidance and information to support planners and immunization programme managers at the national and sub-national levels on microplanning for COVID-19 vaccination implementation.
This Guide is available in English, French, Arabic, chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian
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The Guidelines for the Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Leprosy provide state-of-the-art knowledge and evidence on leprosy diagnosis, treatment and prevention based on a public health approach in endemic countries. The target audience of this document includes policy-makers in leprosy or infec...tious diseases in the ministries of health (especially but not limited to endemic countries), nongovernmental organizations, clinicians, pharmaceutical companies, donors and affected persons
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People-centered approaches that help communities maintain protective behaviours and follow guidelines set out by public health and government agencies are more important than ever. The evidence is clear, communities play a role in preventing and controlling epidemics and they are best able to take a...ction and slow or stop the spread of disease when properly engaged and empowered. This toolbox in 2 parts offers best practice approaches to community engagement with families. Promoting individual and joint responsibilities for the safety of the family, this toolbox aims to bring families and households together to manage shared risks and agree to safe behaviours critical for their safety and the safety of their community.
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Following review of the latest evidence, WHO recommends that TB-LAMP can be used as a replacement for microscopy for the diagnosis of pulmonary TB in adults with signs and symptoms of TB. It can also be considered as a follow-on test to microscopy in adults with signs and symptoms of pulmonary TB, e...specially when further testing of sputum smear-negative specimens is necessary.
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