This document is intended for use by state and local health departments and healthcare facilities and serves as general guidance for the initial response for the containment of novel or targeted mul
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tidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) or resistance mechanisms. It is not intended to describe all the actions that might be required for control of an outbreak (e.g., sustained transmission within a facility or region). In addition, further evaluation might be required based on the findings of the initial response described in this document.
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AWaRe – a new WHO tool to help countries improve antibiotic treatment, increase access and reduce resistance. We can reduce or even reverse antibiotic resistance by using antibiotics more responsi
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bly. But how do we do that and still ensure that patients are treated effectively?WHO has developed a tool to help global, regional and national decision-making on which antibiotics to use when. The tool indexes the most effective antibiotics into three groups – ACCESS, WATCH, RESERVE (AWaRe for short). Evidence shows that to optimize use of antibiotics and reduce resistance, countries should increase the proportion of ACCESS antibiotics to correspond to at least 60% of total national consumption.
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Those who clean are the first line of defense against health care-associated infections (HAIs), and support efforts to reduce antimicrobial resistance
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(AMR).
Strengthening the training of this important group can contribute to resolving many of today’s public health challenges. This is important given that cleaning both surfaces and hands is vital to control the transmission of a number of HAIs.
This two-part training package targets those who clean heath care facilities.
The Trainer’s Guide takes the user through how to prepare, deliver and sustain an effective training for those who clean. The Modules and Resources provides instructions, definitions, photographs, posters and specific illustrations of recommended practices
The package can be used by those who deliver environmental cleaning training programmes and/or those with a background in IPC including ministries of health, nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions, experts working in Quality of care, IPC and environmental cleaning/ Water, sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Health facility IPC focal points and onsite cleaning supervisors
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The 23rd meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on Selection and Use of Essential Medicines was coordinated from Geneva, Switzerland, and held virtual
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ly from 21 June to 2 July 2021. The Committee considered 88 applications proposing additions, changes and deletions of medicines, medicine classes and formulations on the Model Lists of Essential Medicines. The Committee evaluated the scientific evidence for comparative effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness of the medicines in question. The Committee also considered a review of the therapeutic alternatives for medicines on the Model Lists, and update to the AWaRe classification of antibiotics, and reviews and reports relevant to the selection and use of essential medicines.
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Improving the management of childhood tuberculosis within national tuberculosis programmes: research priorities based on a literature review
WHO/H
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TM/TB/2007.381, 07.02
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BUKO Pharma-Kampagne has investigated the causes and consequences of antibiotic resistance in India, South Africa, Tanzania and Germany. Together with our partners we collected data and did intervie
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ws with numerous stakeholders. The outcome is presented in a brochure that is now available in English
Resistant bacteria are spreading worldwide. In collaboration with partners in India, Tanzania, South Africa and Germany, we have investigated the causes and consequences of this spread.2 This Pharma-Brief Special presents the results. It examines the risks for humans, animals and the environment. It focuses on local problems and approaches, international interactions and the re-sponsibility of doctors, farmers and consumers.
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The Government of Kenya, through the Ministry of Health, has the
constitutional obligation to provide
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the highest level of health care for its
citizens. The Ministry of Health’s review of the 2015 Policy document
on infection prevention and control (IPC) is in line with that goal.
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The meningitis road map has been designated as a flagship global strategy of the WHO’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work, 2019–2023 and is an essential component in achieving universal health
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coverage.
The road map will reinforce and combine with wider initiatives, such as those aimed at strengthening primary health care and health systems, increasing immunization coverage, improving global health security, fighting antimicrobial resistance and advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities. It will complement other global control strategies, such as those addressing sepsis, pneumonia, tuberculosis and HIV. Implementation will be a challenge for all countries across the world, but especially in resource-poor settings where the burden of meningitis is greatest. The targets for the visionary and strategic goals will be adapted to regional and local contexts.
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Healthy communities rely on well-functioning ecosystems. They provide clean air, fresh water, medicines and food security. They also limit disease and stabilize the climate. But biodiversity loss is
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happening at unprecedented rates, impacting human health worldwide, according to a new state of knowledge review of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and WHO.
The report synthesizes the available information on the most important inter-linkages between biodiversity, ecosystem stability, and epidemic infectious diseases such as the Ebola virus; and the connection between biodiversity, nutritional diversity and health. It also covers the potential benefits of closer partnerships between conservation and health, from improved surveillance of infectious diseases in wildlife and human populations, to promoting access to green spaces to promote physical activity and mental health. It also highlights the many areas in which further research is needed.
The Joint report hopes to provide a useful reference for the Sustainable Development Goals and post-2015 development agenda, which represents an unique opportunity to promote integrated approaches to biodiversity and health by highlighting that biodiversity contributes to human well-being, and highlighting that biodiversity needs protection for development to be sustainable.
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COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control Sameeksha (Hindi; review) compiles recent key IPC resources on COVID from scientific journals, WHO guidelines, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare /Govern
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ment of India guidelines, and trainings and IPC resources. The intended target audience for this includes clinical and public health professionals in both public and private sector in India.
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This report presents an analysis of antibacterial agents in preclinical (third annual review) and clinical (fifth annual review) development. The a
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nalysis covers traditional (direct-acting small molecules) and non-traditional antibacterial agents in development worldwide. It evaluates to what extent the present pipeline addresses infections caused by WHO Priority Pathogens, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Clostridioides difficile. The report also provides an assessment of the traditional agents with respect to whether they meet a set of predefined criteria for innovation, namely absence of known cross-resistance, new target, mode of action and/or class. It also includes an overview of the agents that obtained authorization since 1 July 2017.
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Fact sheet
Good hygiene is critical to ensure that healthcare staff provide quality care, reduce the spread of infections, and protect the health of communities. This fact sheet explores
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the healthcare-related risks of poor hygiene and the critical elements of hand hygiene needed to improve quality of care and reduce negative outcomes of poor compliance (e.g., healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance) in healthcare facilities, and provides recommendations and additional readings for improving hygiene in health settings and achieving a safe, clean healthcare environment.
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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
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resistance.
WHO preferred product characteristics (PPCs) provide strategic guidance as to WHO’s preferences for new vaccines 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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Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A v.110(21); 2013 May 21 PMC3666729 ;
A systematic review was conducted by a multidisciplinary team to analyze qualitatively best available scientific evidence on
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the effect of agricultural intensification and environmental changes on the risk of zoonoses for which there are epidemiological interactions between wildlife and livestock.
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Pathogen genomic surveillance has become a priority for public health systems in recent years. Genomic sequencing is increasingly being used to characterize pathogens and monitor important public health priorities (e.g. poliovirus, influenza virus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Vibrio cholerae,
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antimicrobial resistance (AMR)). The decrease in cost and time of sequencing and the exponential development of bioinformatic pipelines have played a critical role in integrating pathogen genomics into routine public health surveillance. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the role that sequencing plays in the surveillance of infectious diseases. Sequencing facilitates earlier detection, more accurate investigation of outbreaks, closer real-time monitoring of pathogen evolution and tailored development and evaluation of interventions to inform local to global public health decision-making and action. However, there remains a need to coordinate efforts, leverage and link existing surveillance and laboratory networks and capabilities, and systematically integrate genetic sequence data (GSD) with clinical and epidemiological data to strengthen its utility.
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Known avoidable environmental risks to health cause at least 12.6 million deaths every year, and account for about one quarter of the global burden of disease (2016 data) (1). Air pollution alone causes about 7 million
deaths a year, placing it amo
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ng the top global risks to health (2). Global environmental challenges are on the rise, including climate change, rapid urbanization and increased resistance to drugs.
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Although Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) have been isolated from a variety of food production animals, they are most commonly associated with ruminants from which we derive meat and milk. Because of the widespread and diverse nature of
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ruminant-derived food production, coupled with the near ubiquity of STEC worldwide, there is no single definitive solution for controlling STEC that will work alone or in all situations. Instead, the introduction of multiple interventions applied in sequence, as a “multiple-hurdle scheme” at several points throughout the food chain (including processing, transport and handling) will be most effective.
This report summarizes the review and evaluation of interventions applied for the control of STEC in cattle, raw beef and raw milk and raw milk cheese manufactured from cows’ milk, and also evaluates available evidence for other small ruminants, swine and other animals. The information is presented from primary production, to the end of processing, providing the reader with information on the currently available interventions based on the latest scientific evidence.
This work was undertaken to support the development of guidelines for the control of STEC in beef, raw milk and cheese produced from raw milk by the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH).
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The systematic surveillance of antibiotic use and antibiotic re-sistance prevalence in humans and animals is imperative for managingbacterial infectious disease (JPIAMR, 2019;WHO, 2015). Many low-income countries currently face substantial challenge
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s in building national surveillance systems due to a lack of infrastructure and resources,resulting in a shortage of systematic data (FAO/OIE/WHO, 2018)
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An essential participant in antimicrobial stewardship who has been unrecognized and underutilized is the“staff nurse.”Although the role of staf
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f nurses has not formally been recognized in guidelines for implementing and operating antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) or defined in the medical literature, they have always performed numerous functions that are integral to successful antimicrobial stewardship. Nurses are antibiotic first responders, central communicators, coordinators of care, as well as 24-hour monitors of patient status, safety, and response to antibiotic therapy. An operational analysis of inpatient admissions evaluates these nursing stewardship activities and analyzes the potential benefits of nurses’formal education about, and inclusion into, ASPs.
Clinical Infectious Diseases - CID 2016:62 (1 January)•CLINICAL PRACTICE
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