The goal of the global outbreak response for monkeypox is to stop human-to-human transmission of monkeypox, with a priority focus on communities at high risk of exposure which may differ according to context, and to effectively use strong public health measures to prevent onward spread of the diseas...e. Judicious use of vaccines can support this response. This interim guidance, developed with the advice and support of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) Working Group on smallpox and monkeypox vaccines, provides the first WHO recommendations on vaccines and immunization for monkeypox. Key points follow.
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Updated 2022. This guide addresses the care pathway from presentation of the patient to a health facility to patient discharge. It considers different levels of disease severity, from asymptomatic individuals to critically ill patients. Accounting for variations in the benefits and harms of chest im...aging in different situations, remarks are provided to describe the circumstances under which each recommendation would benefit patients. The guide also includes implementation considerations for different settings, provides suggestions for impact monitoring and evaluation and identifies knowledge gaps meriting further research.
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Historically, the discovery of the sulfa drugs in the 1930s and the subsequent development of penicillin during World War II ushered in a new era in the treatment of infectious diseases. Infections that were common causes of death and disease in the pre-...antibiotic era - rheumatic fever, syphilis, cellulitis and bacterial pneumonia - became treatable, and over the next 20 years most of the classes of antibiotics that find clinical use today were discovered and changed medicine in a profound way. The availability of antibiotics enabled revolutionary medical interventions such as cancer chemotherapy, organ transplants and essentially all major invasive surgeries from joint replacements to coronary bypass. Antibiotics, though, are unique among drugs in that their use precipitates their obsolescence. Paradoxically, these cures select for organisms that can evade them, fueling an arms race between microbes, clinicians and drug discoverers.
Wright BMC Biology 2010, 8:123 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/8/12
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The Committee discussed the implications for preparedness for smallpox-like events reflected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee noted how quickly diagnostics and vaccines could be developed and deployed when resources and political will were abundant. This rapidity was also due to the f...act that the genetic sequence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) had been shared worldwide. It was noted that in one country SARS-CoV-2 had been reconstructed in a laboratory from the viral genome sequence before the first case of COVID-19 had been reported, highlighting the benefits of synthetic biology technologies for accelerated development of diagnostics as well as the oft-described potential risks. Lessons learned about clinical care during the COVID-19 pandemic were also discussed.
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Mpox continues to affect people around the world. A new framework released today by WHO will guide health authorities, communities and other stakeholders in preventing and controlling mpox outbreaks, eliminating human-to-human transmission of the disease, and reducing spillover of the virus from ani...mals to humans.
Mpox is a viral illness caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV). It can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever. Most people fully recover, but some get very sick. The virus transmits from person to person through close, including sexual, contact. It also has animal reservoirs in east, central and west Africa, where spillovers from animals to humans can occasionally occur, sparking further outbreaks.
There are two different clades of the virus: clade I and clade II. Clade I outbreaks are deadlier than clade II outbreaks.
A major emergence of mpox linked to clade II began in 2017, and since 2022, has spread to all regions of the world. Between July 2022 and May 2023, the outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. While that outbreak has largely subsided, cases and deaths continue to be reported today, illustrating that low-level transmission continues around the world.
Currently, there is also a major outbreak of clade I virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where cases have been on the rise for decades. Since the beginning of the year, over 6500 cases and 345 deaths have been reported in the DRC. Almost half of these are among children under the age of 15 years.
The Strategic framework for enhancing prevention and control of mpox (2024–2027) provides a roadmap for health authorities, communities, and stakeholders worldwide to control mpox outbreaks in every context, advance mpox research and access to countermeasures, and to minimize zoonotic transmission.
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A WHO Guideline for Emergency Risk Communication (ERC) policy and practice.
Recent public health emergencies, such as the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa (2014–2015), the emergence of the Zika virus syndrome in 2015–2016 and multi-country yellow fever outbreaks in Africa in 2016, h...ave highlighted major challenges and gaps in how risk is communicated during epidemics and other health emergencies. The challenges include the rapid transformation in communications technology, including the near-universal penetration of mobile telephones, the widespread use and increasingly powerful influence of digital media which has had an impact on ‘traditional’ media (newspapers, radio and television), and major changes in how people access and trust health information. Important gaps include considerations of context – the social, economic, political and cultural factors influencing people’s perception of risk and their risk-reduction behaviours.
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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 pr...esent 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
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The development of this draft Proposed programme budget 2022–2023 comes at a unique moment for WHO. The world is in the grip of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and faces health, social and economic consequences on an unprecedented scale. Although it is not known when the COVID-19 pande...mic will end, recent encouraging vaccine results, in addition to the examples of countries that have achieved good results through public health measures, hold out the prospect of better days ahead. The full impact of the pandemic cannot yet be determined. But whatever its implications, the Secretariat will rise to the challenge and is ready to adapt so that it is fully equipped to support Member States for any eventuality in the future – to make sure that the world will never again have to face this kind of crisis.
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The "Primary Healthcare Standard Treatment Guidelines and Essential Medicines List" by the South African National Department of Health provides evidence-based guidelines for diagnosing and managing common medical conditions at the primary healthcare level. This document includes treatment protocols ...for various health issues, such as infections, chronic diseases, maternal and child health, mental health, and emergency care. It aims to standardize care, promote rational medicine use, and ensure equitable access to essential medications across South Africa. The guidelines emphasize prevention, accurate diagnosis, and efficient treatment strategies to improve patient outcomes.
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The COTS Cholera Outbreak Training and Shigellosis Program Pocket Card provides essential guidelines for health promotion workers to prevent and manage cholera and shigellosis outbreaks. It emphasizes proper sanitation, hygiene practices, safe water handling, and food safety as the primary methods f...or disease control. Key recommendations include handwashing, disinfecting water with chlorine, using latrines, and ensuring safe food preparation. The document also outlines hospital policies, waste disposal procedures, and safety measures for healthcare workers dealing with diarrheal diseases. Additionally, it provides dehydration assessment guidelines, treatment protocols using Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) and IV fluids, and appropriate antibiotic treatments for both cholera and shigellosis. The goal is to equip healthcare workers with quick-reference tools to effectively contain outbreaks and prevent further transmission.
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The WHO Global tuberculosis report 2024 provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the TB epidemic, and of progress in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease, at global, regional and country levels. This is done in the context of global TB commitments, strategies and targets.
The LDHS provides an opportunity to inform policy and provide data for planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of national health programs. It is designed to provide up-to-date information on health indicators including fertility levels, sexual activity, fertility preferences, awaren...ess and use of family
planning methods, breastfeeding practices, nutritional status of children, early childhood and maternal mortality, maternal and child health, and awareness and behaviors regarding HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. The study also incorporated measurements of HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis Cprevalence along with seroprevalence of Ebola virus disease antibodies, the results of which will be included in future addendums. In addition to presenting national estimates, the report provides estimates of key indicators for both rural and urban areas, the country’s 15 counties, and the capital, Monrovia.
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Disinfection of drinking-water supplies has been one of the most significant public health advancements of the last century with respect to reducing waterborne disease.
Although chlorine has been used as the disinfectant of choice for public drinking-water supplies for the past century, a numbe...r of emerging or alternative compounds are used or are being considered for the disinfection of drinking-water.
This series reviews the state of the knowledge on the application, efficacy and toxicity of bromine, iodine and silver as drinking-water disinfectants.
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v.1 (3 de abril de 2020)
Este guia de prática clínica fornece recomendações baseadas em evidências para o controle de infecção, coleta de amostras, cuidados de suporte, tratamento medicamentoso e prevenção de complicações. As recomendações são dirigidas a todos os profissionais de sa...de que atendem os pacientes no serviço de urgência/emergência e na unidade de terapia intensiva (UTI) (médicos com especialidade em medicina de urgência, pneumologia, medicina intensiva, clínica médica, anestesiologia, infectologia, fisioterapeutas respiratórios, enfermeiros e farmacêuticos). O guia deve ser usado por tomadores de decisão e membros de entidades governamentais relacionados com o tratamento de pacientes com COVID-19 em UTI na região das Américas. Este guia não incluirá aspectos relacionados com a nutrição, fisioterapia (exceto fisioterapia respiratória) e tratamento de complicações.
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The sixth course of the Clinical Management of Patients with COVID-19 course series is devoted to the rehabilitation of patients with COVID-19. The seven course modules address the manifold and varied rehabilitation needs of patients recovering from COVID-19, including patients with cognitive impair...ment, physical deconditioning and weakness, respiratory impairment, swallow impairment, communication impairment and challenges in completing Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). Techniques for rehabilitation also are addressed
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The WHO Global Tuberculosis Report 2022 provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the TB epidemic, and of progress in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease, at global, regional and country levels. This is done in the context of global TB commitments, strategies and targets.
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The 2022 edition of the report is as usual, based primarily on data gathered by WHO from national ministries of health in annual rounds of data collection. In 2022, 202 countries and territories with more than 99% of the world’s population and TB cases reported data
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Orientations provisoires, 2 février 2021
e document est une mise à jour des orientations provisoires de l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS) intitulées Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak: rights, roles and responsibilities of health workers, including key considerations... for occupational safety and health,publiées le 18 mars 2020(1). La présente version, qui se fonde sur les données récentes disponibles, fournit des conseils sur les mesures de santé et de sécurité au travail pour les agents de santé et les services de santé au travail dans le contexte de la pandémie de COVID-19. De plus, elle actualise les droits et responsabilités en matière de santé et de sécurité au travail des agents de santé conformément aux normes de l’Organisation internationale du Travail (OIT).
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This guide provides an overview of the major elements that must be considered before, during and after the implementation of antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) for SARS-CoV-2. This guide is complementary to policy guidance issued by the World Health Organization (WHO). The guide may ...appeal to a range of audiences including Ministries of Health, donors, public and private organizations/agencies acting as implementing partners and community based and civil society organizations with experience working on health, especially organizations familiar with similar testing campaigns for other disease programmes like HIV and malaria
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The main objective of the malaria prevention and control programme in Somalia is to prevent mortality and reduce morbidity due to malaria. The groups most vulnerable to the disease, children aged under 5 years and pregnant women, are especially targeted. Effective case management - early diagnosis a...nd treatment - is a critical component of malaria prevention and control. To achieve the main objective of reducing malaria morbidity and prevention of malaria mortality, the availability of safe, effective, affordable and accessible anti-malarial drugs is a prerequisite.
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La presente publicación describe la evidencia científica disponible sobre la precisión diagnóstica de las pruebas rápidas de detección de antígenos para SARS-COV-2. El conocimiento de las pruebas diagnósticas para el coronavirus del síndrome respiratorio agudo grave 2 (SARS-COV-2) sigue evo...lucionando, y una comprensión clara de la naturaleza de las pruebas y la interpretación de sus hallazgos es importante. Este punto de vista describe cómo interpretar 2 tipos de pruebas diagnósticas comúnmente en uso para las infecciones SARS-COV-2: reacción en cadena de polimerasa con transcriptasa reversa (RT-PCR) y ensayo por inmunoabsorción ligado a enzimas IgM e IgG (ELISA)— y cómo los resultados pueden variar con el tiempo.
Esta publicación pertenece al compendio Publicaciones Minsa sobre COVID-19
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