In this contingency planning guidance, a set of actions to prepare for emergencies from all hazards and to help minimize their impact, is proposed. These actions include the development, implementation, simulation, monitoring and regular update of r...isks-based contingency plans.
more
Key facts about major deadly diseases.This manual provides concise and up-to-date knowledge on 15 infectious diseases that have the potential to become international threats, and tips on how to respond to each of them.
You can download an interactive version directly at the website
http://www.who....int/emergencies/diseases/managing-epidemics/en/
more
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of contaminated water or food. This course provides a general introduction to cholera and is intended for personnel responding to outbreaks in complex emergencies or in settings where the ...basic environmental infrastructures have been damaged or destroyed. It includes materials that can be accessed in English, Arabic and Hausa.
Free Online Course. Learning objectives: By the end of this course, participants should be able to: describe the case definition and alerts for cholera; describe main transmission routes; list list the key preventive actions; and explain how cholera control is multisectoral.
Course duration: Approximately 1 hour.
more
Since May 2019, Confirmation of 4 new emergence of type 2 vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV2) in Bambari (2) and Bimbo (2) health districts without any genetic link between them and other known virus...es ; Bambari Health District: CAF-RS4-BAM-19-058, onset of paralysis: May 02, 2019. 07 positive contacts with the same genetic link. Community samples CAF-RS4-BAM-19-058CC14 and CAF-RS4-BAM-19-058CC17 positive, genetically related to each other but not genetically linked to the CAF-RS4-BAM-19-058 index case (new emergence)
more
Interim guidance v2, 19 March 2020
This document provides WHO checklists for risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) readiness and initial response for novel coronaviruses (nCoV) recently identified in Wuhan, China (2019-nCoV). The objective of this document is to provide actionable guid...ance for countries to implement effective RCCE strategies which will help protect the public’s health in the early response to nCoV. This document includes recommended RCCE goals and actions for countries preparing for nCoV cases and for countries that have confirmed -nCoV cases.
Available in English, French and Chinese
more
This document provides guidance to Member States in the WHO European Region that wish to conduct behavioural insights studies related to COVID-19. Studies can be used to monitor public knowledge, risk perceptions, behaviours and trust with the overa...ll aim to inform national COVID-19 outbreak response measures, including policies, interventions and communications.
more
Member States have requested WHO policy guidance on how to facilitate the implementation of national AMS activities in an integrated and programmatic approach. This policy guidance responds to that demand from Member States and is anchored in public... health guiding principles in the human health sector. It aims to provide a set of evidence-based and pragmatic recommendations to drive comprehensive and integrated AMS activities under the purview of a central national coordination unit, National AMR steering or coordinating committees or other equivalent national authorities.
Available in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese
more
an approach to optimize the global impact of COVID-19 vaccines, based on public health goals, global and national equity, and vaccine access and coverage scenarios, first issued 20 October 2020, upd...ated: 13 November 2020, updated: 16 July 2021, latest update: 21 January 2022
Available in English, French, Spanish
more
On August 13, 2024, the Africa CDC declared the mpox outbreak a Public Health Emergency of Continental Security (PHECS). The following day, the WHO declared it a ...medbox">Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). A coordinated, continent-wide response is essential, co-led by the African Union (AU) through the Africa CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO), in close collaboration with global partners working under a unified plan, budget, and monitoring framework.
more
The target audience of this document (and the associated online companion tool) includes WHO country offices
in Member States of the African Region; Member States’ ministries of health and their public... health emergency
operation centres; relevant external assessment teams; and partners looking to identify preparedness gaps and
support interventions that help address them. In the event of a suspected or confirmed VHF case, the document also serves to provide any intervening partner with a sense of what structures should be in place, in order to guide
scale-up activities in line with regional and national plans.
more
The Operational guide: use of referral laboratories for the analysis of foodborne hazards in the Pacific aims to strengthen the food analysis capacity of Pacific Island countries and areas by identifying national and reference laboratories capable of testing for priority foodborne hazards. The Pacif...ic Island countries and areas are often vulnerable to food safety incidents and emergencies due to their geographical distribution and dependence on food imports. The guide outlines key considerations for selecting referral laboratories and submitting samples to them, enabling continuous improvement of food safety systems and providing safe food for all. The target audiences are health and food safety authorities.
more
People with underlying noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease and cancer have a high risk for developing severe and even fatal COVID-19. It is important for them to strictly follow basic protective measures and make sure th...eir chronic diseases are well managed. However, pandemics cripple health systems and compromise provision routine medical care. This technical note gives general guidance to people living with NCDs, their caregivers and family members, the public, health programme managers and health-care workers on how to reduce risks of a COVID-19 infection and maintain care for people living with NCDs during the outbreak.
more
This update of the Guidelines for poison control, entitled Guidelines for establishing a poison centre, reflects the development of the role of poison centres in public health and the sound manageme...nt of chemicals, described in section 1, and the opportunities provided by new technology. Assessments carried out under the IHR show
continuing gaps in capacity for managing chemicals (2). In particular, many countries still lack access to poison
centre services (3). There is therefore demand for updated guidance.
more
Safe drinking-water management must consider drinking-water quality, acceptability and quantity in the context of public health protection. In this manual, the term “safety” encompasses these th...ree elements. Although the principles in this manual can be broadly applied to all types of drinking-water supplies, the guidance is primarily intended for piped water supplies that are professionally managed (by a water supplier or equivalent management entity).The guidance may be applied to existing drinking-water supplies, or adapted for water supplies that are in the planning stage before construction.
more
Esta tercera versión resumida de la Guía para el cuidado de pacientes adultos críticos con COVID-19 en las Américas se elaboró con el objetivo de facilitar la consulta de las recomendaciones para el manejo de pacientes adultos críticos con COVID-19 atendidos en las unidades de cuidados intensi...vos. Ofrece recomendaciones basadas en evidencia para la identificación de marcadores y factores de riesgo de mortalidad de los pacientes críticos, el control de la infección, la recogida de muestras, la asistencia a los pacientes (ventilatoria y hemodinámica), el tratamiento farmacológico, la rehabilitación temprana, el uso de imágenes diagnósticas, la prevención de complicaciones y los criterios de egreso. Las recomendaciones están dirigidas a todo el personal de salud que atiende a pacientes en los servicios de urgencias y de emergencias y las unidades de cuidados intensivos. Asimismo, tienen por objetivo brindar apoyo a los responsables de la toma de decisiones y miembros de entidades gubernamentales relacionados con el manejo de pacientes con COVID-19 en las unidades de cuidados intensivos de la Región de las Américas
more
The objectives of NAP are aligned with the global action plan based on national needs and priorities. The emphasis is on One Health approach with all sectors especially human health, animal ...ass="attribute-to-highlight medbox">health and environment contributing towards minimizing the emergence and impact of AMR in Jordan.
more
Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) provides a vast amount of information and the highest possible resolution for pathogen subtyping. The application of WGS for global surveillance can provide information on the early emergence and spread of AMR and furth...er inform timely policy development on AMR control. Sequencing data emanating from AMR surveillance may provide key information to guide the development of rapid diagnostic tools for better and more rapid characterization of AMR, and thus complement phenotypic methods. This document addresses the applications of WGS for AMR surveillance, including the benefits and limitations of current WGS technologies
more
This document aims to describe a minimum set of surveillance activities recommended at the national level to detect and monitor the relative prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 variants and outline a set of activities for the characterization and assessment of risk posed by these variants. A set of indicators ...is also provided to standardize monitoring and public reporting of variant circulation.
The document is primarily intended for national and sub-national public health authorities and partners who support implementation of surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 variants
more
This document aims to provide interim guidance for microbiology and virology experts, other laboratory professionals, laboratory managers, infectious disease programme managers, public health profes...sionals and other stakeholders that provide primary, confirmatory or advanced testing for SARS-CoV-2, including genomic sequencing, or are involved in making decisions on establishing or scaling up capability and capacity to detect and characterize circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants.
more
Evidence-based guidelines are one of the most useful tools for improving public health and clinical practice. Their purpose is to formulate interventions based on strong evidence of efficacy, avoid ...unnecessary risks, use resources efficiently, reduce clinical variability and, in essence, improve health and ensure quality care, which is the purpose of health systems and services. These guidelines were developed following the GRADE methodology, with the support of a panel of clinical experts from different countries, all convened by the Pan American Health Organization. By responding to twelve key questions about the clinical diagnosis and treatment of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, evidence-based recommendations were formulated for pediatric, youth, adult, older adult, and pregnant patients who are exposed to these diseases or have a suspected or confirmed diagnosis of infection. The purpose of the guidelines is to prevent progression to severe forms of these diseases and the fatal events they may cause. The recommendations are intended for health professionals, including general, resident, and specialist physicians, nursing professionals, and medical and nursing students, who participate in caring for patients with suspected dengue, chikungunya, or Zika. They are also intended for health unit managers and the executive teams of national arboviral disease prevention and control programs, who are responsible for facilitating the process of implementing these guidelines.
more