The case for evidence- based communication of science
BMJ Open Science 2021;5:e100202. doi:10.1136/
bmjos-2021-100202
April 2022 Volume 35 Issue 2 e00152-21
Population movements have turned Chagas disease (CD) into a global public health problem. Despite the successful implementation of subregional initiatives to control vectorial and transfusional Trypanosoma cruzi transmission in Latin American settings where t...he disease is endemic, congenital CD (cCD) remains a significant challenge. In countries where the disease is not endemic, vertical transmission plays a key role in CD expansion and is the main focus of its control. Although several health organizations provide general protocols for cCD control, its management in each geopolitical region depends on local authorities, which has resulted in a multitude of approaches. The aims of this review are to (i) describe the current global situation in CD management, with emphasis on congenital infection, and (ii) summarize the spectrum of available strategies, both official and unofficial, for cCD prevention and control in countries of endemicity and nonendemicity. From an economic point of view, the early detection and treatment of cCD are cost-effective. However, in countries where the disease is not endemic, national health policies for cCD control are nonexistent, and official regional protocols are scarce and restricted to Europe. Countries of endemicity have more protocols in place, but the implementation of diagnostic methods is hampered by economic constraints. Moreover, most protocols in both countries where the disease is endemic and those where it is not endemic have yet to incorporate recently developed technologies. The wide methodological diversity in cCD diagnostic algorithms reflects the lack of a consensus. This review may represent a first step toward the development of a common strategy, which will require the collaboration of health organizations, governments, and experts in the field.
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Chromoblastomycosis (CMB) is a chronic fungal infection of the skin and the subcutaneous tissue caused by a transcutaneous traumatic inoculation of a specific group of dematiaceous fungi occurring mainly in tropical and subtropical zones worldwide. If not diagnosed at early stages, patients with CBM... require long term therapy with systemic antifungals, sometimes associated with physical methods. Unlike other neglected endemic mycoses, comparative clinical trials have not been performed for this disease. Nowadays, therapy is based on a few open trials and on expert opinion. Itraconazole either as monotherapy or associated with other drugs, or with physical methods, is widely used. Recently, photodynamic therapy has been successfully employed in combination with antifungals in patients presenting with CBM. In the present revision the most used therapeutic options against CBM are reviewed as well as the several factors that may have impact on the patient's outcome.
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As a high-burden neglected tropical disease, soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections remain a major problem in the world, especially among children under five years of age. Since young children are at high risk of being infected, STH infection can have a long-term negative impact on their life, i...ncluding impaired growth and development. Stunting, a form of malnutrition in young children, has been long assumed as one of the risk factors in acquiring the STH infections. However, the studies on STH infection in children under five with stunting have been lacking, resulting in poor identification of the risk. Accordingly, we collected and reviewed existing related research articles to provide an overview of STH infection in a susceptible population of stunted children under five years of age in terms of prevalence and risk factors. There were 17 studies included in this review related to infection with Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, hookworm, and Strongyloides stercoralis from various countries. The prevalence of STH infection in stunted children ranged from 12.5% to 56.5%. Increased inflammatory markers and intestinal microbiota dysbiosis might have increased the intensity of STH infection in stunted children that caused impairment in the immune system. While the age from 2 to 5 years along with poor hygiene and sanitation has shown to be the most common risk factors of STH infections in stunted children; currently there are no studies that show direct results of stunting as a risk factor for STH infection. While stunting itself may affect the pathogenesis of STH infection, further research on stunting as a risk factor for STH infection is encouraged.
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The greatest risk to persons engaging in international medical emergency response is poor preparation.
The In Control handbook hopes to provide a remedy.
At the time of writing, we are living through the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, a health emergency that disregards physical borders, brin...gs into focus social inequalities and affects people on every continent. This shared challenge requires unprecedented measures and the collaboration of the brightest minds to support global health protection through this crisis and beyond. Healthcare infrastructures have to be strengthened, public health capacities and processes upgraded, medical countermeasures and vaccinations found and psychosocial side-effects treated.
Solidarity is the normative order of the day and the human species has to collaborate to face this invisible threat. Hiding and living in fear is not an option in this interconnected world. We have both a responsibility and an opportunity to make substantial contributions to a safer, healthier and more sustainable future for us all.
The existence of this handbook is an impressive example of solidarity. Over 50 authors from more than 15 institutes and organisations have come together voluntarily within a very short time to make their expertise available and enable cross-sectoral thinking. Knowledge is bundled, resources are combined, information gaps are filled. The In Control handbook is not a theoretical treatise of possible dangers, but a collection of subject-matter expertise, written by experts and practitioners who have shaped health topics over the past 20 years in the most diverse corners of the world.
The Centre for International Health Protection at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is collaborating with its partners and investing heavily in the build-up of operational know-how and capacity to support health crisis response abroad. This is done by preparing and enabling professionals to deploy safely across the world to assist those in need. In Control addresses the multi-faceted challenges of an international deployment. Readers will find not only technical medical information, but also insights into, for example, the fragility of our environment, the cultural differences that influence risk communication or the dilemmas arising from social distancing. Legal principles are highlighted, along with ethical guidance to ensure that our actions and decisions correspond to the highest moral standards.
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Unmet mental health needs in the Region of the Americas are a leading source of morbidity and mortality, which result in tremendous health, social, and economic consequences. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the mental health crisis in the Region, necessitating urgent action at the highest leve...ls of government and across sectors to build back better mental health now and for the future. This landmark report is the result of the PAHO High-Level Commission on Mental Health and COVID-19. It provides an analysis of the mental health situation in the Region, followed by a series of recommendations and corresponding actions to support countries in the Americas to prioritize and advance mental health using human rights- and equity-based approaches.
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Nota INformatIva Nº 13/2020 - SE/GaB/SE/mS
September 2020
Instructional Manual for the care of pregnant and postpartum women in the context of the covid-19 pandemic
Este Manual de Recomendações para a Assistência à Gestante e Puérpera visa orientar o acesso e a horizontalidade da assistência durante a pandemia Covid-19, abordando as vias de transmis...são, o diagnóstico precoce e o adequado manejo das gestantes e puérperas nas diversas fases da infecção, definindo diretrizes que evitem a morbimortalidade materna e os agravos ao concepto.
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Manual for Death Surveillance in the Context of Pediatric Multisystemic Inflammatory Syndrome (SIM-P) Associated with Covid-19. Publication updated on 24/09/2021
International Journal of Mental Health Systems2011,5:17http://www.ijmhs.com/content/5/1/17
PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0133869 July 28, 2015, p.1-16
Joining efforts to control two trelated global epidemics.
CBM Cerebral Palsy Toolkit - Part 1: Flipchart (Spanish)
Interpersonal violence – in all its forms – has a grave effect on children: Violence undermines children’s future potential; damages their physical, psychological and emotional well-being; and in many cases, ends their lives. The report sheds light on the prevalence of different forms of viole...nce against children, with global figures and data from 190 countries. Where relevant, data are disaggregated by age and sex, to provide insights into risk and protective factors.
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