In the 126 years since it was first described, scientists have learned a great deal about Buruli ulcer, (an ulcerating skin infection caused by the environmental bacterium, Mycobacterium ulcerans), including how to treat it. Yet, there is 1 question about this neglected tropical disease that has rem...ained unanswered: how is M. ulcerans transmitted to humans? In southeastern Australia, where Buruli ulcer is endemic and cases are increasing, researchers are putting together the M. ulcerans transmission puzzle. The more they learn, the better equipped they will be for managing infections.
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March 2020
The number of African Union Member States reporting COVID-
19 cases is increasing and there is a likelihood of community transmission. The WHO recently modified the COVID-19 suspect case definition to include severe acute respiratory infection and advises testing of all severe acute r...espiratory illness (SARI) cases.1 However, many Member States have not yet started implementing these changes, they are still focussing surveillance efforts on individuals with travel history to an area with local COVID-19 transmission. This means patients with similar symptoms, but no apparent contact, may not
be investigated.
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This publication provides recommendations for the management of critically ill adult patients with COVID-19 being treated in intensive care units (ICUs) in the Americas. These clinical practice guidelines provide evidence-informed recommendations for identifying markers and mortality risk factors in... critically ill patients, as well as infection control, sample collection, supportive care (respiratory and hemodynamic), pharmacological treatment, early rehabilitation, diagnostic imaging use, prevention of complications, and discharge requirements. The recommendations are for all health care staff caring for patients in emergency departments and ICUs. These guidelines are also intended for use by decisionmakers and government entities involved in the management of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs in the Region of the Americas.
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Test de connaissances avant formation. ATELIER DE FORMATION DU PERSONNEL DE LABORATOIRE SUR LA PREVENTION DE L’INFECTION A VIRUS EBOLA
Buruli ulcer (BU), a neglected tropical disease (NTD), is an infection of the skin and subcutaneous tissue caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. The disease has been documented in many South American, Asian, and Western Pacific countries and is widespread throughout much of Africa, especially in West... and Central Africa.
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The document "Priority medical devices list for the COVID-19 response and associated technical specifications" complements this guideline.
This document provides interim guidance on the quality, performance characteristics and related standards of personal protective equipment (PPE) to be used i...n the context of COVID-19. This includes WHO Priority Medical Devices, specifically: surgical masks, non-surgical masks, gloves, googles, face shields, gowns and N95 masks. It is intended for procurement agencies, occupational health departments, infection prevention and control departments or focal points, health facility administrators, biomedical and materials engineering, PPE manufacturers and public health authorities at both national and facility levels.
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Front. Immunol. 12:620657. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.620657.
HIV-1 infection disproportionately affects women in sub-Saharan Africa, where areas of high HIV-1 prevalence and Schistosoma haematobium endemicity largely overlap. Female genital schistosomiasis (FGS), caused most frequently by S. haemato...bium egg deposition in the genital tract, has been associated with prevalent HIV-1 infection in cross-sectional studies. The presence of S. haematobium eggs in genital tissue is also associated with vascularization and the accumulation of CD4+ lymphocytes and macrophages, making the granuloma-associated environment a potential contributor to HIV-1 vulnerability. In addition to modulation of the local cervicovaginal environment, FGS has also been associated with a higher frequency of systemic CD4 T-cells expressing the chemokine receptor CCR5. Tissue-entrapped eggs are also associated with clinically visible FGS-associated manifestations in the cervicovaginal mucosa. FGS lesions may breach the intact cervicovaginal immune barrier and are hypothesized to provide an entry point for HIV-1 infection. However, the underlying mechanism for potential HIV-1 vulnerability in FGS has not been fully characterized and requires further investigation.
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It is estimated that, in Latin America alone, between 6 and 8 million people are infected with the parasite, and 99% of these are not receiving treatment, either because they are unaware of their infection or because they do not know that treatment exists. The potential spread of the disease is also... a cause for considerable concern: 65 million people live in areas of exposure and are at risk of contracting Chagas disease, and 28,000 new cases occur every year.
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Orientations provisoires 16 décembre 2020
Le présent document résume les orientations de santé publique actuelles de l’OMS pour la surveillance de la maladie à coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) chez l’homme due à une infection par le coronavirus 2 du syndrome respiratoire aigu sévère (SARS-Co...V-2) (ci-après désignée « surveillance de la COVID-19 »).
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Interim Guidance. This document provides guidance for: screening and triage of pregnant women in the context of an Ebola outbreak; infection prevention and control (IPC) precautions for pregnant women at risk of EVD transmission during childbirth and complication management; management of pregnant... EVD cases, contacts and survivors; lactation and Ebola virus disease.
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При возобновлении проведения профилактического медицинского осмотра
и диспансеризации должны быть предприняты исчерпывающие меры
для исключения возможности р...аспространения новой коронавирусной инфекции
(COVID-19) при прохождении гражданами профилактических мероприятий.
Temporary methodological guidelines for the organization of preventive medical examinations and checkups in an environment where the risks of spreading a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) persist.
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Published 24 January 2021
The term “Long COVID-19” covers a wide spectrum of symptoms that can occur or persist weeks and even months after an acute infection, not only after severe but also after initially mild courses. Primary symptoms are exhaustion and fatigue, but also dyspnea on exertion,... headache and arthralgia, palpitations, concentration disorders and depressive symptoms in previously healthy individuals. The symptoms may fluctuate within hours or days. This chapter summarizes current knowledge (which is still limited, as of the end of January 2021).
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Policy Brief November 2021 Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese
The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled the ongoing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) global crisis due to the increase in the use of antibiotics to treat COVID-19 patients, disruptions to infection prevention and control practices in o...verwhelmed health systems, and diversion of human and financial resources away from monitoring and responding to AMR threats. Moreover, AMR is likely to have caused more COVID-19 deaths, as secondary bacterial infections can worsen the outcome of severe and critical COVID-19 illness. Therefore, it is more urgent than ever to prioritize efforts towards AMR containment and support countries to improve the detection, characterization and rapid response to emerging AMR.
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HAT diagnosis relies on laboratory techniques because clinical signs and symptoms are unspecific. Serodiagnostic tests exist only for Tbg and are based on the detection of specific antibodies, thus they are not confirmatory of infection. With the current low disease prevalence, the positive predicti...ve value of serological tests is particularly low. Field-applicable tools include the card agglutination test for trypanosomiasis (CATT) used mainly in active screening by specialized mobile teams, and the rapid diagnostic tests that are more suitable for individual testing at point-of-care.
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Over the course of their lives, women spend more time with children than men. Because young children are the reservoirs of trachoma infection, contact with them can result in more frequent trachoma infection. This gender-specific exposure to trachoma risk factors places women at a higher risk for tr...achoma infections and subsequent blindness. Although both men and women can develop trichiasis, the odds of trichiasis are greater among women than men.
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This core package of materials provides a comprehensive introduction to the FAST strategy: a focused approach to stopping TB spread in congregate settings. In English, FAST stands for:
Finding TB cases
Actively,
Separating safely, and
Treating effectively.
FAST focuses health care w...orkers on the most important TB transmission control intervention: effective treatment.
FAST can also be extrapolated to national policy where it serves as a framework for allocating resources to interventions that will have the greatest impact on reducing TB transmission.
This core package is composed of a booklet, job aids, posters, and a button which serves as a visual reminder to staff and patients of the importance of this strategy in TB control. FAST can be implemented in both general and TB specific medical settings.
For full package visit: https://drtbnetwork.org/fast-tb-infection-control-strategy-core-package
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Policy Brief, Updated in March 2017
Key messages
• Sex workers have the right to equal protection under the law, regardless of the legal status of sex work.
• Sex workers have the right to access HIV, sexually transmitted infection (STI) and other health services free from the thr...eat of violence, intimidation, incarceration, and stigma and discrimination.
• Justice and law enforcement sectors, together with the health sector and sex worker communities, should work in partnership to reform relevant legislation, policies and practices.
• Capacity development of all partners is critical to the success of the HIV response among sex workers.
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Le présent document donne des lignes directrices provisoires afin de garantir l’efficacité des communications sur les risques relatives à la transmission du virus Zika et aux complications potentielles. Le lien de causalité entre l’infection à virus Zika et ces complications potentielles n...a pas encore été prouvé. Malgré ces incertitudes, des stratégies de communication efficaces devraient être mises en œuvre afin de permettre aux gens de prendre les meilleures décisions éclairées pour se protéger et protéger leurs familles et leurs communautés. Les présentes lignes directrices sont destinées à être utilisées par les responsables, le personnel et les bénévoles chargés de la communication sur les risques et la santé à l’échelle mondiale, régionale ou nationale; les professionnels de la communication; les anthropologues; les sociologues; les agents de santé; les administrateurs des hôpitaux; les responsables communautaires; les gestionnaires de programme et les décideurs politiques.
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19 March 2020
Technical documentation
The purpose of this document is to offer guidance to Member States on quarantine measures for individuals in the context of COVID-19. It is intended for those responsible for establishing local or national policy for quarantine of individuals, and adherence ...to infection prevention and control measures.
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26 March 2021
If you have already had COVID-19 do you still need both doses of the vaccine? Do these vaccines protect you against infection? Do they protect us against variants? WHO’s Dr Katherine O’Brien answers these questions in Science in 5 this week.