Infection prevention and control (IPC) practices are of critical importance in protecting the function of healthcare services at all levels ...lass="attribute-to-highlight medbox">and mitigating the impact on vulnerable populations. Although the management of possible COVID-19 cases is usually guided by national policies for specific healthcare facilities, community transmission is currently widespread in most EU/EEA countries and the UK, therefore primary healthcare providers in the community such as GPs, dentists and pharmacists are at risk of being exposed to COVID-19.
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30 March 2022. Infographic
This document aims to provide guidance to healthcare facilities and healthcare providers in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) and the United Kingdom (UK) on preparedness ...="attribute-to-highlight medbox">and infection prevention and control (IPC) measures for the management of possible and confirmed cases of COVID-19 in healthcare settings, including long-term care facilities (LTCFs). In addition, this document addresses the management of clinical diagnostic specimens at laboratories in the EU/EEA. This is the sixth update of the ECDC guidance on ‘Infection prevention and control and preparedness for COVID-19 in healthcare settings’, and replaces the document dated 6 October 2020.
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This document provides guidance on the implementation of the shielding approach in urban areas in LICs and crisis-affected regions. It is intended for the community itself, national ...ribute-to-highlight medbox">and local governance institutions, and humanitarian and development actors operating in the country.
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Infection Prevention and Control Programmes
January 2020
Cholera is an acute gastrointestinal infection caused by the bacterium Vibrio Cholerae serogroup O1 or O139, and is often linked to unsafe drinking water, lack of proper sanitation and personal hygi...ene. It adversely affects mostly the poor and vulnerable populations in countries, which are already deprived of proper health facilities and conducive environmental conditions. The disease spreads through oro-fecal transmission by the ingestion of contaminated food or water or by person-to-person contact. It has a short incubation period of 2 hours to 5 days and the number of affected cases can rapidly increase across large regions. Cholera is a significant threat to global public health leading to an estimated 3-5 million cases per year worldwide, with an annual toll of 100,000 deaths. The disease was first reported in 1817 from the Ganges Delta of India and since then the ongoing 7th pandemic has emerged from Indonesia, reached Africa in 1970 and Somalia happens to be one of the early affected countries. Over the past few decades,
Somalia has witnessed the occurrence of repeated AWD/Cholera disease outbreaks that have caused high morbidity and mortality across the country.
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These guidelines provide recommendations for the non-pharmacological aspects of infection prevention and ...">control for acute respiratory diseases (ARD) in health care. Administrative and infection controls, including early detection, isolation and reporting, and establishment of infection control infrastructure, are key components for containment and mitigation of the impact of pathogens that may constitute a major public health threat. In these guidelines, the options of using natural ventilation and/or exhaust fan assisted ventilation in health-care facilities (HCF) are considered.
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Developed by the HHS Panel on Treatment of Pregnant Women with HIV Infection and Prevention of Perinatal Transmission—
A Working Group of the Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council (OARAC)
A...ccessed: 12.02.2020
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The WHO document "Integrating the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases in HIV/AIDS..., tuberculosis, and sexual and reproductive health programmes: implementation guidance" provides a framework for integrating noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) into existing health programs for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and sexual and reproductive health (SRH). It emphasizes the importance of a people-centered approach to enhance healthcare accessibility and efficiency, especially in low-resource settings. The document outlines strategies for strengthening policy, financing, capacity building, and health system infrastructure. It offers actionable steps, tools, and case studies to support countries in reducing the burden of NCDs through integrated, holistic care within primary health services.
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The Infection prevention and control in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a li...ving guideline consolidates technical guidance developed and published during the COVID-19 pandemic into evidence-informed recommendations for infection prevention and control (IPC). This living guideline is available both online and PDF.
This version of the living guideline (version 6.0) includes fifteen statements on IPC measures in health-care settings (screening and patient placement, ventilation, physical barriers, environmental cleaning, waste management, amongst others) as well as one statement on mask fit in the community context.
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Epidemiology
Chagas disease (American trypanosomiasis) is caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, and transmitted to humans by infected triatomine bugs, ...ght medbox">and less commonly by transfusion, organ transplant, from mother to infant, and in rare instances, by ingestion of contaminated food or drink.1-4 The hematophagous triatomine vectors defecate during or immediately after feeding on a person. The parasite is present in large numbers in the feces of infected bugs, and enters the human body through the bite wound, or through the intact conjunctiva or other mucous membrane.
Vector-borne transmission occurs only in the Americas, where an estimated 8 to 10 million people have Chagas disease.5 Historically, transmission occurred largely in rural areas in Latin America, where houses built of mud brick are vulnerable to colonization by the triatomine vectors.4 In such areas, Chagas disease usually is acquired in childhood. In the last several decades, successful vector control programs have substantially decreased transmission rates in much of Latin America, and large-scale migration has brought infected individuals to cities both within and outside of Latin America.
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Building on the 2021 Interim guidance, this second version and update, incorporates the lessons and feedback from the hepatitis pilots that successfully demonstrated the feasibility of measuring hep...atitis B and C impact targets to demonstrate elimination, whilst highlighting challenges caused by high disease burden in some countries, as well as delays in reaching mortality targets due to the long natural history of disease progression to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.
The path to elimination provides a framework with 3 levels of achievements for which WHO certification is available. Each stepwise progression from bronze to silver to gold tiers will promote an iterative expansion of prevention, diagnosis and treatment services for viral hepatitis services and strengthen measurement systems to support attainment of the 2030 elimination goals.
This updated version also includes changes, clarifications and new guidance on alternative measurement approaches for country validation of elimination. Through the validation process, WHO and partners continue to provide country support for strengthening health system capacity and patient-centred services that respect and protect the human rights of people living with viral hepatitis and ensures meaningful engagement of communities in the national, regional and global viral hepatitis response.
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In 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized Chagas disease (CD; Trypanosoma cruzi infection) as a neglected tropical disease (NTD) [1] and...an> included it into the global plan to combat NTDs [2]. The Target 3.3 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN/SDG) aims at ending the epidemics of NTDs by 2030 [3]. Mother-to-child (congenital/connatal) transmission is currently the main mode of transmission of T. cruzi over blood transfusions and organ transplantations in vector-free areas within and outside Latin America (LA). Based on recent demonstrations that congenital transmission can be prevented [4–7], WHO has shifted its objective, in 2018, from control to elimination of congenital CD (cCD).
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Interim rapid response guidance, 10 June 2022.
It includes considerations for certain populations such as patients with mild disease with considerations ...for community care, patients with moderate to severe disease, sexually active persons, pregnant or breastfeeding women, children and young persons. The guidance also addresses considerations for clinical management such as the use of therapeutics, nutritional support, mental health services, and post-infection follow-up.
The document provides guidance for clinicians, health facility managers, health workers and infection prevention and control practitioners including but not limited to those working in primary care clinics, sexual health clinics, emergency departments, infectious diseases clinics, genitourinary clinics, dermatology clinics, maternity services, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology and acute care facilities that provide care for patients with suspected or confirmed monkeypox
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The WHO continuously reviews available data on SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. For this version, the global epidemiological
situation of the COVID-19 pandemic as of 21 January 2022 – at a time when the Omicron VOC had been identified in 171
coun...tries across all six WHO Regions and was rapidly replacing Delta worldwide – was considered Omicron has a substantial growth advantage, higher secondary attack rates and a higher observed reproduction number than Delta.
There is now significant evidence that immune evasion contributes to the rapid spread of Omicron. Other factors may be a shorter
serial interval (by about 0.8 to 1.2 days compared to Delta) and potential increased intrinsic transmission fitness . There is
growing evidence that with Omicron, there is lower vaccine effectiveness (VE) against infection and symptomatic disease soon after vaccination compared to Delta. There is also evidence of accelerated waning of VE over time of the primary series against infection and symptomatic disease for the studied vaccines. Further studies are required to better understand the drivers of transmission and declining incidence in various settings. These factors include the intrinsic transmission fitness properties of the virus, degree of immune evasion, vaccination coverage and level of vaccine-derived and post-infection immunity, levels of social mixing and degree of application of public health and social measures (PHSM).
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The Infection prevention and control in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a li...ving guideline consolidates technical guidance developed and published during the COVID-19 pandemic into evidence-informed recommendations for infection prevention and control (IPC). This living guideline is available both online and PDF.
**This version of the living guideline (version 5.0) **includes the following seven revised statements for the prevention, identification and management of SARS-CoV-2 infections among health and care workers:
a good practice statement on national and subnational testing strategies;
a good practice statement on passive syndromic surveillance of health and care workers;
a good practice statement on prioritizing health and care workers for SARS-CoV-2 testing;
a good practice statement on protocols for reporting and managing health and care worker exposures;
a good practice statement to limit in-person work of health and care workers with active SARS-CoV-2 infections;
a statement on high-risk exposures and quarantine; and,
a conditional recommendation on the duration of isolation for health and care workers.
Understanding the updated section
Prevention of infections in the health care setting includes a multi-pronged and multi-factorial approach that includes IPC and occupational health and safety measures and adherence to Public Health and Social Measures in the community by the health workforce. The underlying infection prevention and control strategy of this section is the notion that early identification of symptomatic cases, testing and quarantining/isolating health and care workers decreases the risk of nosocomial infection to patients and to other health and care workers.
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The most significant finding of the case study for integrating antimicrobial resistance (AMR)into existing programs and mobilising resources fo...r funding in Nigeria, is that most of the AMR activities within the Nigerian National Action Plan (NAP)canalready be incorporated within existing programs of the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and their agencies or institutes. Certain programs and initiatives already have an AMR element incorporated or could,with little effort,include some additional AMR actions, however much is already being planned and has started with existing federal funding and existing staffing and other resources including development partner support and is being driven by significant political will from the ministries as well as implementation support from the Nigerian Centers for Disease Control as the focal point.
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India is experiencing rapid demographic and epidemiological transitions with NCDs causing significant disability, morbidity and mortality both in urban an...d rural populations and across all socioeconomic strata. According to the ICMR State Level Disease Burden Initiative, in 2016, NCDs accounted to an estimated 6.0 million deaths, constituting 62% of the total mortality of that year.
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As part of our commitment to the fight against NCDs, Nigeria was signatory to the political declaration at the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on NCDs in September 2011. Thus, the purpose of this document is to develop and... ensure the implementation of policies and programmes that will engender and guarantee a healthy lifestyle and quality health for all Nigerians. The core sections include background, scope of the policy, policy goal, strategic thrusts for implementation, programme management and coordination, roles of stakeholders and partnership coordination. It is expected that with the adoption of this policy, the control and prevention of NCDs and their associated risk factors will be well integrated at all levels of government and health care delivery system in Nigeria. This policy document is therefore a stepping stone towards the development of guidelines for the prevention and management of NCDs.
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