The Mediclinic Infohub article on silicosis provides an overview of this occupational lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust. It explains that inhaled silica particles lead to lung scarring and nodule formation, progressively impairing breathing. The article outlines symptoms such as shortness ...of breath, severe cough, fatigue, loss of appetite, chest pains, and fever. Diagnosis involves a medical examination, detailed occupational history, lung function tests, and imaging like chest X-rays or CT scans to detect lung scarring and nodules. While silicosis is irreversible with no specific cure, management focuses on preventing further silica exposure and treating complications. Preventive measures include maintaining high occupational health standards to control silica dust exposure.
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Under-diagnosis of asthma in ‘under-fives’ may be alleviated by improved inquiry into disease history. We assessed a questionnaire-based screening tool for asthma among 614 ‘under-fives’ with severe respiratory illness in Uganda. The questionnaire responses were compared to post hoc consensu...s diagnoses by three pediatricians who were guided by study definitions that were based on medical history, physical examination findings, laboratory and radiological tests, and response to bronchodilators. Children with asthma or bronchiolitis were categorized as “asthma syndrome”. Using this approach, 253 (41.2%) had asthma syndrome. History of and present breathing difficulties and present cough and wheezing was the best performing combination of four questionnaire items [sensitivity 80.8% (95% CI 77.6–84.0); specificity 84.7% (95% CI 81.8–87.6)]. The screening tool for asthma syndrome in ‘under-fives’ may provide a simple, cheap and quick method of identifying children with possible asthma. The validity and reliability of this tool in primary care settings should be tested.
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The past two decades have witnessed changes in how humans live. Travel and trade, rapid urbanization, limited access to health care as well as environmental degradation and other trends all create the conditions for epidemics to thrive and grow. At the same time, the science and knowledge around inf...ectious hazards are constantly evolving, demanding better response to health emergencies.
This introductory level online course aims to equip frontline responders with the latest know-how to manage outbreaks of known and emerging epidemic-prone diseases in the 21st century. This course focuses on 13 infectious hazards, offering the most relevant scientific, technical and operational knowledge through video presentations and self-tests.
The course will take approximately 6 hours to finish.
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Policy brief. HIV testing services (HTS) and anti-retroviral therapy (ART) have been scaled up substantially. It is estimated that, globally, nearly 80% of people with HIV now know their status. With the offer of immediate ART initiation and improved treatment options, access to and uptake of treatm...ent have increased, too. Now, most people with HIV who know their status are obtaining treatment and care.
In response to these changes in the global HIV epidemic, WHO is encouraging countries to use three consecutive reactive tests for an HIV-positive diagnosis as their treatment-adjusted prevalence and national HTS positivity fall below 5% .
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Chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes to humans. The word ‘chikungunya’ means 'that which bends up', an allusion to the posture of the suffering patients. The most common clinical form associates fever, arthralgia and rash. Recovery is the usual outcome but chronic arthr...itis is not rare. Diagnostic tests are available but there is no antiviral treatment. The disease is notifiable at EU level.
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La Centrale d’Achats des Médicaments Essentiels et Consommables Médicaux (CAME) du
Benin est chargée d’assurer la disponibilité et l’accessibilité des produits de santé dans le secteur
publique et privé à but non lucratif. Lors de la mise en oeuvre des subventions du Fonds Mondial, l...es
Récipiendaires Principaux des différentes subventions avaient choisi la CAME comme agent
d’approvisionnement pour l’acquisition, la gestion des stocks et la distribution des produits médicaux
acquis dans le cadre de ces subventions (produits pharmaceutiques et autres produits médicaux tel
que les moustiquaires, les équipements de laboratoire et de radiologie, les préservatifs, les tests de
diagnostique rapide et non rapide, les insecticides et les seringues).
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GPHF Minilab manuals on basic dye and thin layer chromatographic testing. The newest version of the manual (Volume I + II) from 2008 is available in three languages: English, French, Spanish. Combining the main manual with the supplements issued each year between 2010 and 2015, label claims on drug... identity and content can now be verified for 75 active ingredients and their fixed-dose combination products using simple, rapid and affordable thin layer chromatographic tests. Please note: Only the demo versions are online available!! The complete manuals are only available after purchasing the Minilab!
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We investigate whether and to what extent Chinese development finance affects infant mortality, combining 92 demographic and health surveys (DHS) for a maximum of 53 countries and almost 55,000 sub-national locations over the 2002-2014 period. We address causality by instrumenting aid with a set of ...interacted variables. Variation over
time results from indicators that measure the availability of funding in a given year. Cross-sectional variation results from a sub-national region’s “probability to receive aid.” Controlled for this probability in tandem with fixed effects for country-years and provinces, the interactions of these variables form powerful and excludable instruments. Our results show that Chinese aid increases infant mortality at sub-national scales, but decreases mortality at the countrylevel. In several tests, we show that this stark contrast likely results from aid being fungible within recipient countries.
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25 August 2021. The earthquake on August 14, 2021 was almost as strong as the severe quake in 2010, which killed about 300,000 people. The current number of victims is more than 2,200 people, and more than 12,000 people have been injured. More than 52,000 houses were destroyed and more than 77,000 ...damaged. Thousands of families were affected! The magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck southwest Haiti at 8:30 a.m. local time at a depth of about 10 km. The epicentre was measured about 12 km northeast of Saint-Louis-du-Sud, about 125 km west of the capital Port-auPrince. The situation on the ground remains chaotic and the extent of the disaster cannot yet be predicted. In addition, heavy rainfall and the unstable security situation are complicating relief efforts. What is needed most now is food and drinking water, tents and primary health care. MEDBOX has already created the Natural Hazard Toolbox after the severe earthquake in 2010 and has collected many essential materials on health care, shelter & reconstruction after an earthquake in English, French and Kreyol there. In this issue brief, we provide a quick
overview of the most important information.
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Technical Note: Cholera treatment facilities provide inpatient care for cholera patients during outbreaks. Proper case management and isolation of cholera patients is essential to prevent deaths and help control the spread of
the disease. Traditionally, these structures have been referred to as ch...olera treatment centres (CTCs) and
cholera treatment units (CTUs). CTCs are usually large structures set up at central level (e.g. urban areas),
while CTUs are smaller structures set up in the periphery (e.g. peri-urban or rural areas). CTCs/CTUs can
be set up as independent structures in tents or within existing buildings or wards of health structures.
Whatever the structure, the principles described in this document should be respected
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How the Greek reception system is failing to protect the most vulnerable people seeking asylum.
Greece and its EU partners are failing pregnant women, unaccompanied children, victims of torture or sexual violence and other vulnerable people who seek protection in Europe. These people are being put ...at risk by flawed processes and chronic understaffing in EU ‘hotspot’ camps on the Greek islands. They do not receive adequate support from the authorities that are legally responsible for protecting them and are being abandoned in overcrowded camps in squalid conditions. Many people live in unheated tents and do not have sufficient access to washing facilities and toilets, and winter is only making their situation worse
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Diagnosing asthma in children represents an important clinical challenge. There is no single gold-standard test to confirm the diagnosis. Consequently, over- and under-diagnosis of asthma is frequent in children. A task force supported by the European Respiratory Society has developed these evidence...-based clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis of asthma in children aged 5–16 years using nine Population, Intervention, Comparator and Outcome (PICO) questions. The task force conducted systematic literature searches for all PICO questions and screened the outputs from these, including relevant full-text articles. All task force members approved the final decision for inclusion of research papers. The task force assessed the quality of the evidence using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.
The task force then developed a diagnostic algorithm based on the critical appraisal of the PICO questions, preferences expressed by lay members and test availability. Proposed cut-offs were determined based on the best available evidence. The task force formulated recommendations using the GRADE Evidence to Decision framework.
Based on the critical appraisal of the evidence and the Evidence to Decision framework, the task force recommends spirometry, bronchodilator reversibility testing and exhaled nitric oxide fraction as first-line diagnostic tests in children under investigation for asthma. The task force recommends against diagnosing asthma in children based on clinical history alone or following a single abnormal objective test. Finally, this guideline also proposes a set of research priorities to improve asthma diagnosis in children in the future.
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These consolidated guidelines on HIV testing services (HTS) bring together existing and new guidance on HTS across different settings and populations.
The World Health Organization (WHO) first released consolidated guidelines on HTS in 2015, in response to requests from Member States, national pr...ogramme managers and health workers for support to achieve the United Nations (UN) 90–90–90 global HIV targets – and specifically the first target of diagnosing 90% of all people with HIV. In 2016, based on new evidence, WHO released a supplement to address important new HIV testing approaches – HIV self-testing (HIVST) and provider-assisted referral.
Since the release of 2015 and 2016 HTS guidelines, new issues and more evidence have emerged. To address this, WHO has updated guidance on HIV testing services. In this guideline, WHO updates recommendation on HIVST and provides new recommendations on social network-based HIV testing approaches and western blotting (see box, next page). This guideline seeks to provide support to Member States, programme managers, health workers and other stakeholders seeking to achieve national and international goals to end the HIV epidemic as a public health threat by 2030.
These guidelines also provide operational guidance on HTS demand creation and messaging; implementation considerations for priority populations; HIV testing strategies for diagnosis HIV; optimizing the use of dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic tests; and considerations for strategic planning and rationalizing resources such as optimal time points for maternal retesting
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The Covid-19 pandemic has so far infected more than 30 million people in the world, having major impact on global health with collateral damage. In Mozambique, a public state of emergency was declared at the end of March 2020. This has limited people's movements and reduced public services, leading ...to a decrease in the number of people accessing health care facilities. An implementation research project, The Alert Community for a Prepared Hospital, has been promoting access to maternal and child health care, in Natikiri, Nampula, for the last four years. Nampula has the second highest incidence of Covid-19. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of Covid-19 pandemic Government restrictions on access to maternal and child healthcare services. We compared health centres in Nampula city with healthcare centres in our research catchment area. We wanted to see if our previous research interventions have led to a more resilient response from the community.
METHODS: Mixed-methods research, descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective, using a review of patient visit documentation. We compared maternal and child health care unit statistical indicators from March-May 2019 to the same time-period in 2020. We tested for significant changes in access to maternal and child health services, using KrushKall Wallis, One-way Anova and mean and standard deviation tests. We compared interviews with health professionals, traditional birth attendants and patients in the two areas. We gathered data from a comparable city health centre and the main city referral hospital. The Marrere health centre and Marrere General Hospital were the two Alert Community for a Prepared Hospital intervention sites.
RESULTS: Comparing 2019 quantitative maternal health services access indicators with those from 2020, showed decreases in most important indicators: family planning visits and elective C-sections dropped 28%; first antenatal visit occurring in the first trimester dropped 26%; hospital deliveries dropped a statistically significant 4% (p = 0.046), while home deliveries rose 74%; children vaccinated down 20%.
CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated the negative collateral effects of Covid-19 pandemic Government restrictions, on access to maternal and child healthcare services, and highlighted the need to improve the health information system in Mozambique.
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Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0.27 Causes of Dengue Fever
1:09 Signs and Symptoms of Dengue Fever
2:30 Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever
3:53 Diagnosis of Dengue Fever
4:10 Treatment of Dengue Fever
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms typically beg...in three to fourteen days after infection. This may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash.Recovery generally takes two to seven days. In a small proportion of cases, the disease develops into the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever, resulting in bleeding, low levels of blood platelets and blood plasma leakage, or into dengue shock syndrome, where dangerously low blood pressure occurs.
Dengue is spread by several species of mosquito of the Aedes type, principally A. aegypti.The virus has five different types;infection with one type usually gives lifelong immunity to that type, but only short-term immunity to the others. Subsequent infection with a different type increases the risk of severe complications. A number of tests are available to confirm the diagnosis including detecting antibodies to the virus or its RNA.
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Lancet Oncol 2022; 23: e251–312Published OnlineMay 9, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(21)00720-8
In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), urgent action is needed to curb a growing crisis in cancer incidence and mortality.
Without rapid interventions, data estimates show a major increase in cancer mo...rtality from 520 348 in 2020 to about
1 million deaths per year by 2030. Here, we detail the state of cancer in SSA, recommend key actions on the basis of
analysis, and highlight case studies and successful models that can be emulated, adapted, or improved across the
region to reduce the growing cancer crises. Recommended actions begin with the need to develop or update national
cancer control plans in each country. Plans must include childhood cancer plans, managing comorbidities such as
HIV and malnutrition, a reliable and predictable supply of medication, and the provision of psychosocial, supportive,
and palliative care. Plans should also engage traditional, complementary, and alternative medical practices employed
by more than 80% of SSA populations and pathways to reduce missed diagnoses and late referrals. More substantial
investment is needed in developing cancer registries and cancer diagnostics for core cancer tests.
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Background: The human helminth infections include ascariasis, trichuriasis, hookworm infections, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis (LF) and onchocerciasis. It is estimated that almost 2 billion people worldwide are infected with helminths. Whilst the WHO treatment guidelines for helminth infecti...ons are mostly aimed at controlling morbidity, there has been a recent shift with some countries moving towards goals of disease elimination through mass drug administration, especially for LF and onchocerciasis. However, as prevalence is driven lower, treating entire populations may no longer be the most efficient or cost-effective strategy. Instead, it may be beneficial to identify individuals or demographic groups who are persistently infected, often termed as being “predisposed” to infection, and target treatment at them.
Methods: The authors searched Embase, MEDLINE, Global Health, and Web of Science for all English language, humanbased papers investigating predisposition to helminth infections published up to October 31st, 2017. The varying definitions used to describe predisposition, and the statistical tests used to determine its presence, are summarised. Evidence for predisposition is presented, stratified by helminth species, and risk factors for predisposition to infection are identified and discussed.
Results: In total, 43 papers were identified, summarising results from 34 different studies in 23 countries. Consistent evidence of predisposition to infection with certain species of human helminth was identified. Children were regularly found to experience greater predisposition to Ascaris lumbricoides, Schistosoma mansoni and S. haematobium than adults. Females were found to be more predisposed to A. lumbricoides infection than were males. Household clustering of infection was identified for A. lumbricoides, T. trichiura and S. japonicum. Ascaris lumbricoides and T. trichiura also showed evidence of familial predisposition. Whilst strong evidence for predisposition to hookworm infection was identified, findings with regards to which groups were affected were considerably more varied than for other helminth species.
Conclusion: This review has found consistent evidence of predisposition to heavy (and light) infection for certain human helminth species. However, further research is needed to identify reasons for the reported differences between demographic groups. Molecular epidemiological methods associated with whole genome sequencing to determine ‘who infects whom’ may shed more light on the factors generating predisposition.
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This document provides detailed guidance on laboratory testing for suspected diphtheria cases during significant outbreaks or in low-resource settings. It aims to supplement and build on other existing WHO guidance documents on surveillance standards, diagnostics and research on Corynebacterium by p...roviding key considerations for laboratories that allow the rationalization and optimization of testing during outbreaks. The recommendations given here have been prepared by WHO in consultation with, and reviewed by, global experts with experience in laboratory analysis of Corynebacterium species and in outbreak settings, or with expertise in developing new technologies for diphtheria research and diagnosis. Unless otherwise stated, the considerations provided apply to diphtheria outbreaks caused by toxin-producing C. diphtheriae with a classical respiratory diphtheria presentation.
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Annex to Selection and use of Ebola in vitro diagnostic assays