It can be difficult to know which sources of information you can trust. Learn more about finding credible vaccine information.
Updated 19 August 2021
The Vaccination Demand Hub is a network of partner organizations innovating together to understand why people miss out and to improve acceptance and uptake of vaccines, to ensure that everyone every...where is protected against vaccine preventable diseases.
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Dengue testing guidance according to days of symptom onset.
Quick reference guide on clinical management of patients with Dengue
Quick reference guide on clinical management of patients with Dengue Fever
Climate change also affects human health by increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events. Increases in
the overall temperature of the atmosphere and oceans associated with climate ...change cause changes in wind, moisture, and heat circulation patterns. These changes contribute to shifts in extreme weather events, including extreme heat events.
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The Pocket Guide to Managing Contraceptive Supplies addresses one of
the most important components of any program that provides family
planning services—the logistics system that manages the del...ivery,
quality, and storage of contraceptive supplies. These supplies are
essential; without them, family planning services cannot be provided.
This guide is for the staff of family planning or health clinics who
manage contraceptive supplies and for the supervisor who oversees
these logistics activities. This booklet is not a complete logistics text;
its purpose is to be a quick reference for logistics formulas and
principles to help you manage your supplies (both contraceptives and
other commodities) correctly and efficiently.
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Veterinarians are leaders and stewards in preserving the effectiveness of antibiotics for animals and people. Working with animal owners and producers, veterinarians can slow antibiotic resistance by implementing ...medbox">disease prevention strategies and improving the use of antibiotics while also guaranteeing high-quality medical care for animal patients.
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Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are a significant burden globally, with millions of patients affected each year. These infections affect both high- and limited-resource healthcare settings, but in limited-resource settings, rates are approxim...ately twice as high as high-resource settings (15 out of every 100 patients versus 7 out of every 100 patients). Furthermore, rates of infections within certain patient populations are significantly higher in limited-resource settings, including surgical patients, patients in intensive-care units (ICU) and neonatal units. It is well documented that environmental contamination plays a role in the transmission of HAIs in healthcare settings. Therefore, environmental cleaning is a fundamental intervention for infection prevention and control (IPC).It is a multifaceted intervention that involves cleaning and disinfection (when indicated) of the environment alongside other key program elements to support successful implementation (e.g., leadership support, training, monitoring, and feedback mechanisms). To be effective, environmental cleaning activities must be implemented within the framework of the facility IPC program, and not as a standalone intervention. It is also essential that IPC programs advocate for and work with facility administration and government officials to budget, operate and maintain adequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure to ensure that environmental cleaning can be performed according to best practices.
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Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that is found in parts of the tropics, subtropics, and southern Europe. Leishmaniasis is caused by infection with Leishmania parasites, which are spread by the b...ite of infected sand flies. There are several different forms of leishmaniasis in people. The most common forms are cutaneous leishmaniasis, which causes skin sores, and visceral leishmaniasis, which affects several internal organs (usually spleen, liver, and bone marrow).
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The purpose of this document is to provide guidance on the use of pooled sample testing strategy in coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
testing laborat...ories of the African Union Member States for scaling up SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid testing capacity with the available resources. The current document describes the effect of factors such as the prevalence of COVID-19 in the population to be tested, the homogeneity of pools, and the sensitivity of the molecular test in optimal pool size determination. It also highlights the importance of monitoring the prevalence of COVID-19 in a population to be tested and proper validation of the test, to limit the potential for false-negative results. Validation studies to determine the optimal pool size by testing laboratories are recommended as the optimum approach. A safe, simple ‘two-stage pooling’ option has been indicated in this guidance to be used by laboratories until such validation can be achieved.
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Injury to the skin and underlying tissues from acute exposure to
a large external dose of radiation is referred to as cutaneous
radiation injury (CRI). Acute radiation syndrome (ARS) 1 will
usually be accompani...ed by some skin damage; however, CRI
can occur without symptoms of ARS. This is especially true with
acute exposures to beta radiation or low-energy x-rays, because
beta radiation and low-energy x-rays are less penetrating and less
likely to damage internal organs than gamma radiation is. CRI can
occur with radiation doses as low as 2 Gray (Gy) or 200 rads 2 and
the severity of CRI symptoms will increase with increasing doses.
Most cases of CRI have occurred when people inadvertently came
in contact with unsecured radiation sources from food irradiators,
radiotherapy equipment, or well depth gauges. In addition, cases of
CRI have occurred in people who were overexposed to x-radiation
from fluoroscopy units.
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Dentists are uniquely positioned to play a role in pre enting the spread of antibiotic resistance. Here are se en simple “how-tos” for safe, appropriate antibiotic prescribing and use when treating dental infections
Know the facts about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and help stop the spread of rumors.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Course is designed to increase knowledge and develop competency in the management of patients suspected of infection with dengue virus.
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases detected and reported in each country is influenced by
many factors including limited access and/or utilization of healthcare and COVID-19 testing, limited
s...urveillance, lack of knowledge amongst the population about when to seek testing, an asymptomatic presentation, and other unknown issues. This is true in all countries of the world, and not Africa specific, however there are factors unique to Africa which may also affect the way the virus behaves there. COVID-19 prevalence data are critical for planning effective mitigation strategies and understandingthe true impact of the disease and relevant intervention measures in Africa, which might be quite different from regions with a different population age distribution or risk factor profile.
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March 2020
The number of African Union Member States reporting COVID-
19 cases is increasing and there is a likelihood of community transmission. The WHO recently modified the COVID-19 suspect cas...e definition to include severe acute respiratory infection and advises testing of all severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) cases.1 However, many Member States have not yet started implementing these changes, they are still focussing surveillance efforts on individuals with travel history to an area with local COVID-19 transmission. This means patients with similar symptoms, but no apparent contact, may not
be investigated.
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Taking the whole of Africa approach to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic has and will continue to require coordinated efforts from multiple stakeholders from across the continent. Africa CDC would like... to acknowledge the deep partnership and continued support of AUDA-NEPAD, AVAREF, WHO AFRO, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Mastercard Foundation. These partners have helped to shape and drive the continent’s strategic response to the COVID-19 pandemic and have offered support to ensure the continent receives a fair and equitable share of the COVID-19 vaccine without delay.
We look forward to continuing and deepening our partnership for the benefit of the public health of Africa.
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In response to the first cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) reported on the continent, many African Union Member States implemented large-scale public health and social measures (PHSM) rap...idly. These measures were aimed at reducing transmission and the number of new cases being reported, protecting the most vulnerable populations, and allowing time for countries to ramp up critical healthcare and diagnostic services. While these quick actions bought time for Member States, the negative socio-economic impacts are being felt widely, and countries are now exploring how best to ease these measures back while still managing the outbreak.
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This Cardiac Rehabilitation Change Package was completed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (...box">CDC) in collaboration with the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR) with the purpose of helping cardiac rehabilitation programs, hospital quality improvement teams, and public health professionals who partner with these groups to implement systems and strategies that improve care for patients who are eligible for cardiac rehabilitation. AACVPR is a multidisciplinary professional association comprised of health professionals who serve in the field of cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation.
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