No country can claim to be free from health-care associated infections, therefore, improvement of infection prevention and
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control (IPC) strategies is essential. WHO recommends the use of multimodal improvement strategies to implement IPC interventions. These include each item of standard and transmission-based precautions according to national guidelines or standard operating procedures and under the coordination of the national IPC focal point (or team, if existing). This publication consists of three focused improvement tools, called “aide-memoires”, which focus on 1) respiratory and hand hygiene, 2) personal protective equipment, and 3) environmental cleaning, waste and linen management, all elements of standard, droplet/contact and airborne precautions.
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at the national and acute health care facility level
20-22 July 2015, Monrovia, Liberia
The Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Assessment Framework (IPCAF) is a tool to support the implementation of the
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World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines on core components of IPC programmes at the acute health care facility level. The user should be familiar with the contents of these guidelines, including the Interim practical manual supporting the implementation of the IPC core components at the facility level before using this tool. The IPCAF is a systematic tool that can provide a baseline assessment of the IPC programme and activities within a health care facility, as well as ongoing evaluations through repeated administration to document progress over time and facilitate improvement.
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The response to a cholera outbreak must focus on limiting mortality and reducing the spread of the disease. It should be comprehensive and multisec
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toral, including epidemiology, case management, water, sanitation and hygiene, logistics, community engagement and risk communication. All efforts must be well coordinated to ensure a rapid and effective response across sectors.
This document provides a framework for detecting and monitoring cholera outbreaks and organizing the response. It also includes a short section linking outbreak response to both preparedness and long-term prevention activities.
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Cryptococcal disease is one of the most common opportunistic infections among people living with advanced HIV disease and is a major contributor to
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severe illness, morbidity, and mortality, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
These guidelines update the recommendations that were first released in 2018 on diagnosing, preventing, and managing cryptococcal disease. In response to important new evidence that became available in 2021, these new guidelines strongly recommend a single high dose of liposomal amphotericin B as part of the preferred induction regimen for the treatment of cryptococcal meningitis in people living with HIV. This simplified regimen - a single high dose of liposomal amphotericin B paired with other standard medicines (flucytosine and fluconazole) - is as effective as the previous WHO standard of care, with the benefits of lower toxicity and fewer monitoring demands.
The objective of these guidelines is to provide updated, evidence-informed recommendations for treating adults, adolescents and children living with HIV who have cryptococcal disease. These guidelines are aimed at HIV programme managers, policymakers, national treatment advisory boards, implementing partners and health-care professionals providing care for people living with HIV in resource-limited settings with a high burden of cryptococcal disease.
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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 resista
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nce (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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This document focuses on making recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of Chagas disease, an infection caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, the pr
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otozoan agent of a systemic parasitic disease. Methodology: These clinical practice guidelines were prepared following the WHO handbook for guideline development (5). A multidisciplinary development group was formed, comprised of thematic experts, epidemiologists, methodologists, and users. Since there were no existing guidelines that could be adapted, the guidelines were developed from scratch.
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The objectives of these guidelines are to provide recommendations outlining a public health approach to managing people presenting with advanced HIV disease,
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and to provide guidance on the timing of initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for all people living with HIV.
WHO recommends that a package of screening, prophylaxis, rapid ART initiation and intensified adherence interventions be offered to everyone living with HIV presenting with advanced disease.
WHO strongly recommends that rapid ART initiation should be offered to people living with HIV following confirmed diagnosis and clinical assessment. Rapid initiation of ART is defined as within seven days of HIV diagnosis. WHO further strongly recommends ART initiation on the same day as HIV diagnosis based on the person’s willingness and readiness to start ART immediately, unless there are clinical reasons to delay treatment.
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23 December 2020 This document summarizes WHO recommendations for the rational use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in health care settings
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and temporary strategies during acute supply shortages. This document also contains 2 Annex sections describing updated PPE use recommendations for health workers based on the transmission scenario, setting, and activity in the context of COVID-19 (Annex 1), and updated considerations for the decontamination or reprocessing of PPE (Annex 2). This guidance is intended for public health authorities, organizations, and focal persons involved in decisions regarding PPE distribution, management, and use by health workers.
Available in Arabic, French, English, Spanish and Russian
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The document covers: introduction on contact tracing in the Ebola response; general considerations for contact tracing; case definition; planning and preparation; personnel; implementation,
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and tools for contact tracing.
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The new guidelines provide public health guidance on pharmacological agents for managing hyperglycaemia in type 1 and type 2 diabetes
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for use in primary health-care in low-resource settings. These guidelines update the recommendations for managing hyperglycaemia in the WHO Package of Essential NCD Interventions (WHO PEN) for primary care in low-resources settings, reviewing several newer oral agents as second- and third-line treatment: dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors and thiazolidinediones. The guidelines also present recommendations on the selection of type of insulin (analogue versus human insulin) for adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
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This manual describes methods for investigating clusters or outbreaks that may be of chemical origin and describes the importance of a structured, coordinated, collaborative multidisciplinary, multi
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-agency approach at local, regional, national and international levels.
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Skin-related neglected tropical diseases, or “skin NTDs”, are historically neglected because active case detection, individual case management, significant resources and intensive effort are required to
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control, eliminate and eradicate them. Integrated control and management of skin NTDs offers a pathway to overcome some of these past challenges.
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interim guidance, 23 December 2020
2016 Update
Key population
Rabies has an enormous impact on both agriculture and conservation biology, but its greatest burden is undeniably on public health. As such, routine methods
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for rapid risk assessment after human exposures to rabies as well as applications for laboratory-based surveillance, production of biologicals and management of this infectious disease are critical. Given its mandate to improve human health and control disease among its Member States, WHO has led the production of this fifth edition of Laboratory techniques in rabies.
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