Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) has significantly helped in early diagnosis and commencement of specific interventions for diseases control. It also plays a critical role in understanding the disease epidemiology and unraveling the transmissio...n dynamics of the disease. This manual intends to provide primary guidelines to assist health lab personnel in developing countries to establish a PCR diagnostic facility for efficient support to patient care as well as public health actions.
more
The skin of a patient is the first and most visible structure of the body that any health-care worker encounters during the course of an examination. To the patient, it is also highly visible, and any disease that affects it is noticeable and will have an impact on personal and social well-being. Th...e skin is therefore an important entry point for both diagnosis and management. Many diseases of humans are associated with changes to the skin, ranging from symptoms such as itching to changes in colour, feel and appearance.
This training guide explains how to identify the signs and symptoms of neglected tropical diseases of the skin through their visible characteristics. It also contains information on how to diagnose and manage common skin problems that front-line health workers may encounter.
more
WHO’s Essential Medicines List and List of Essential Diagnostics are core guidance documents that help countries prioritize critical health products that should be widely available and affordable throughout health systems. The updated Essential M...edicines List adds 23 medicines for children.
more
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 empir...ic 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.
more
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.
more
Technical specifications for selection of essential in vitro diagnostic tests for SARS-COV-2, 14 June 2021
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS FOR TEST SELECTION ESSENTIAL IN VITRO DIAGNOSTIC TESTS FOR SARS-COV-2
This document is a guide defining requirements for quality and safety for malaria rapid diagnostic testing services to safeguard the quality of the results, the safety of the operators and patients and that of the environment for use by national mal...aria control programmes, regulators, implementers and rapid diagnostic providers.
more
Effective malaria case management requires quick access to diagnostics and antimalarial treatments to reduce illness and death. Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) has been essential to malaria treatment since 2001, as it combines artemisini...n for rapid parasite reduction with a partner drug to ensure complete cure. However, resistance to antimalarial drugs, where parasites survive standard doses, threatens malaria control.
more
Biology, Diagnosis and Treatment, Epidemiology and Prevention
This guidance provides an overview of interventions to improve early diagnosis of TB and treatment completion in these populations, as well as factors to consider when developing programmes for health communication, awareness and education, and prog...ramme monitoring and evaluation
more
Towards Universal Access to Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment
В этой главе представлены модели, которые позволяют провести различия между разнообразными типами поведенческих, эмоциональных и социальных проблем, встречающи...хся у детей (для краткости мы употребляем слова «ребенок», «дети» и «детство» для описания возраста от рождения до 18 лет). Используемое нами понятие «модели», включает в себя официальные нозологии (т.е. классификации расстройств), такие как Международная классификация болезней (МКБ) Всемирной организации здравоохранения и Руководство по диагностике и статистике психических расстройств (DSM – Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders) Американской психиатрической ассоциации (2000).
more
This page serves to provide up to date information on serology tests that are in development or available for use. Importantly, many of these tests have been approved for research use only, which indicates that they are not yet approved for use as a public health ...medbox">diagnostic tool or for at-home diagnosis. Some of these tests may move forward to approval for diagnostic use, while others may be appropriate for research only.
more
Because of the limited access to more powerful diagnostic tools, there is a paucity of data regarding the burden of fungal infections in Burkina Faso. The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence and prevalence of serious fungal infections in... this sub-Saharan country. We primarily used the national demographic data and performed a PubMed search to retrieve all published papers on fungal infections from Burkina Faso and its surrounding West African countries. Considering the prevalence of HIV infection (0.8% of the population) and a 3.4% incidence of cryptococcosis in hospitals, it is estimated that 459 patients per year develop cryptococcosis. For pneumocystosis, it is suggested that 1013 new cases occur every year. Taking into account the local TB frequency (population prevalence at 0.052%), we estimate the prevalence of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis at 1120 cases. Severe forms of asthma with fungal sensitization and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis are estimated to affect 7429 and 5628 cases, respectively. Vulvovaginal candidiasis may affect 179,000 women, and almost 1,000,000 children may suffer from tinea capitis. Globally, we estimate that roughly 1.4 million people in Burkina Faso (7.51% of the population) suffer from a serious fungal infection. These data should be used to drive future epidemiological studies, diagnostic approaches, and therapeutic strategies.
more
Clinical Guidelines. Diagnosis and Treatment Manual.
The Alere Filariaisis Test Strip (FTS) is a diagnostic test used to detect filarial antigens for lymphatic filariasis. This training video was developed by ENVISION in collaboration with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with fundi...ng provided by the US Agency for International Development.
more
The Cardiovascular Journal of Africa (CVJA) is an international peer-reviewed journal that keeps cardiologists up to date with advances in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Topics covered include coronary disease, electrophysiol...ogy, valve disease, imaging techniques, congenital heart disease (fetal, paediatric and adult), heart failure, surgery, and basic science.
more
Objective To determine whether adding urine culture to urinary tract infection diagnosis in pregnant women from refugee camps in
Lebanon reduced unnecessary antibiotic use.
2nd edition. These guidelines provide guidance on the diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, the use of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for treating and preventing HIV infection and the care of people living with HIV. They are structu...red along the continuum of HIV testing, prevention, treatment and care
more