The threat posed by Zika virus infection highlights the need to reinforce preparedness arrangements for mosquito-borne ...ghlight medbox">diseases in EU/EEA countries, especially for pathogens transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.
The aim of this document is to highlight measures that can effectively reduce the risk of importation and local transmission of pathogens transmitted by Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. The main diseases of concern in this context are Zika, dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.
more
Overwhelming evidence shows that a range of health concerns—mental illness, substance dependence, HIV/AIDS, and noncommunicable diseases—affect... prisoners disproportionately. But, while incarceration poses risks to health—including inadequate nutrition and exposure to violence—prisons also present important opportunities to promote health and risk reduction that need to be tapped.
Some recommended remedies:
Health ministries, not ministries of justice, should manage health care responsibilities
Ensure that testing is available, but not mandatory, for infectious diseases
Make prison health part of the broader public health agenda
more
ECDC Technical Report
In line with ECDC’s recommendations provided in the ’Risk Assessment of HTLV-1/2 transmission by tissue/cell transplantation’ dated 14 March 2012, this Directive replaces the term ‘incidence’ with ‘prevalence’ in the description of endemic areas of HTLV-1/2 i...nfection. According to the new requirements ‘HTLV-1 antibody testing must be performed for donors living in, or originating from high-prevalence areas or with sexual partners originating from those areas or where the donor’s parents originate from those areas’ and this applies to both donors of non-reproductive tissues and cells and reproductive cells.
ECDC contracted experts from the Institut Pasteur in Paris to systematically review the published evidence on the distribution of HTLV-1 infection prevalence throughout the world and to identify high-prevalence countries and areas.
more
For the Fiscal Year 2015-2016, the Health Sector continued to implement actions meant to improve the availability, and access to quality healthcare.... The following report highlights achievements registered by the health sector for the fiscal 2015-2016 in different health programs, as well as in the area of health system strengthening.
more
The objective of this document is to guide the preparation and implementation of national preparedness plans for the safety of substances of human origin during outbreaks of Zika ...ute-to-highlight medbox">virus infection, both in affected and non-affected areas.
more
The primary audience for this guidance is persons
working directly in vector-borne disease prevention
...>and control, including programme managers,
researchers and field workers. A brief technical
background is provided for the benefit of persons
without expertise in vector-borne diseases; readers
working in the field may wish to skip the background
section and begin with the discussion of ethical
issues and values in Chapter 3. The guidance cannot
offer universally applicable answers to the complex
ethical issues raised, nor can it provide a checklist of
issues that are necessarily relevant in all situations.
Rather, its goal is to help readers recognize aspects
of their work that raise significant ethical challenges
and to respond to these challenges in accordance
with internationally accepted values and norms.
more
This is a resource pack for a Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) surveys about Zika virus and...an> its suspected complications such as microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome.
This resource and associated advice was requested by governments and response partners as a way to rapidly obtain valuable and insightful information in order to tailor interventions to better address people's needs at community level, thereby contributing to the overall public health response to Zika virus and its potential complications. It can be used in communities with Zika virus transmission or those at risk.
more
Evidence-based guidelines are one of the most useful tools for improving public health and clinical practice. Their purpose is to formulate interve...ntions 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
This manual provides guidance on best practices to be followed in Ebola Care Units (ECUs)/Community Care Centres (CCCs). It is intended for health aid workers (including junior nurses ...ttribute-to-highlight medbox">and community health-care workers) and others providing care for patients in ECUs/CCCs. While the focus is on the care and management of patients with Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), the care of patients with other causes of fever is also described.
more
This technical report presents the epidemiology of human and animal leishmaniases in the EU and its neighbouring countries and concludes that the <...span class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">disease remains widespread and underreported in many countries of southern Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East and that there is a need to improve leishmaniasis prevention and control based on robust surveillance in humans, animals, and vectors, and to increase public awareness following a one health approach.
more
Cities are uniquely positioned to understand local needs and respond rapidly to changing conditions to safeguard health. These changes require strong city leadership to implement multisectoral, ...n class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">health-relevant policies and public services that engage communities. The response to malaria must be an integral part of such policies and processes.
This framework supports the control and elimination of malaria in urban environments. It provides guidance for city leaders, health programmes and urban planners as they respond to the challenges of rapid urbanization in a targeted way. For each urban context, the strategic use of data can inform effective, tailored responses and help build resilience against the threat of malaria and other vector-borne diseases.
more
The five hepatitis viruses have different epidemiological profiles, and their impact, duration, and transmission route also vary. The most common transmission routes contributing to the spread of he...patitis are exposure to infected blood via blood transfusion or unsafe injection practices, consumption of contaminated food and drinking water, and transmission from mother to child during pregnancy and delivery. Also, unsafe injection practices, including the use of unsterile needles and syringes, serve as a major pathway for the spread of hepatitis B and C, and reducing transmission of both diseases requires addressing these practices.
more
This report highlights key achievements registered by the Ministry of Health, affiliated institutions, implementing agencies both at central and decentralized levels in 2013-2014. Generally, the ...an class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">Health Sector accomplishments and programs routine data for 2013-2014 confirm that Rwanda maintains its progress towards the realization of health-related MDGs and national health targets as well.
more
Ebola disease and Marburg disease outbreaks continue to occur in Africa, with increased frequency. In addition to resulting in high mortality ... class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">and morbidity, the outbreaks generate fear and mistrust about the response activities within the communities affected.
Infection prevention and control (IPC) is a key pillar in the outbreak response; adherence to IPC practices can prevent and control transmission of infections to health and care workers, patients and their family members.
During the 2014-2016 West African Ebola disease outbreak, there was an urgent need for rapid IPC guidance to help support ministries of health, health-care providers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In response, WHO produced several documents related to the outbreak based on expert opinion, including IPC-specific documents and documents on clinical management that also referenced key IPC principles and practices. Since that time, many practices in the field have become institutionalized.
more
The WHO Toolkit for the care and support of people affected by complications associated with Zika virus has been developed to serve as a model gui...de, with the goal of enhancing country preparedness for Zika virus outbreaks. The toolkit is intended to provide a systems approach involving public health planners and managers so that the necessary infrastructure and resources can be identified and incorporated as needed, as well as technical and practical guidance for health care professionals and community workers.
The toolkit includes three manuals to provide countries with tools to effectively recognize people affected by Zika virus and deliver comprehensive care and support:
Manual for public health planners and managers
Manual for health care professionals
Manual for community workers
more
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) showed
that global commitment and collective action
could significantly reduce the disease burdens of
three deadly communicable ...ighlight medbox">diseases: HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. The MDGs helped
focus efforts on these three deadly diseases
and leveraged disease-specific programmes and
financing, thus achieving significant progress.
more
Together we can Prevent and Control the World's Most Common Diseases
Objectives of the training manual
(1) To improve knowledge of NCD trends, burdens, as well as systems for management ...pan class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">and monitoring of NCD services for Township Medical Officers (TMOs), Township Public Health Officers (TPHOs), Medical Officers (MOs). The manual can also be used for training of Basic Health staff (BHS), TMOs, TPHOs and MOs,
(2) To equip trainers to train BHS to conduct PEN protocols at the primary care level health centers,
(3) To equip trainers to train in processes to conduct PEN scaling up monitoring , supervision and evaluation activities.
more
The WHO guidelines provide recommended steps for safe phlebotomy and reiterate accepted principles for drawing, collecting ...to-highlight medbox">blood and transporting blood to laboratories/blood banks.
more