Available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish
https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/334254
Interim guidance, 6 October 2021
Direct detection of SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins (antigens) in nasal swabs and other respiratory secretions using lateral flow immunoassays (also known as rapid diagnostic tests, RDTs) offers a faster and less expensive method to test for SARS-CoV-2 than the reference ...method, nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs). This interim guidance offers recommendations on the priority uses of antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) in specific populations and settings, including (i) for primary case detection in symptomatic individuals suspected to be infected and asymptomatic individuals at high risk of COVID-19, (ii) for contact tracing, (iii) during outbreak investigations and (iv) to monitor trends of disease incidence in communities. Ag-RDTs meeting minimum performance requirements can be used outside of clinical and laboratory settings, including in communities, by trained operators in accordance with instructions. The guidance additionally provides recommendations on implementation, product selection and storage.
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Serie: Documentos Técnico
Chagas disease is currently endemic and also predicted to be at increased transmission risk under future climate change scenarios. Similarly, an expansion of areas in the United States at increased risk for Chagas disease transmission is also expected over the next several decades under climate chan...ge scenarios. Of particular interest is the predicted northern shift of triatomine species to central regions of the United States with historically unsuitable climates for T. cruzi vectors. The weight of evidence regarding the influences climate change may pose on T. cruzi vector species distributions demonstrates the sensitivity of Chagas disease transmission to future climate variability. In order to advance forecasts for the impact climate change may have on Chagas disease transmission in the Americas, it is imperative to
further develop, utilize, and perhaps combine predictive species distribution modeling approaches that integrate accurate, long term data on climate variables, vector species distributions, Chagas disease incidence, as well as other socio-ecological variables.
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Our goal at Voices for Georgia’s Children is to help decision-makers craft and implement policies that ensure Georgia’s children grow up to be healthy, educated and productive citizens. To that end, we have developed a comprehensive policy agenda focused on early childhood, child health and disc...onnected youth, which, if followed, can effectively prevent and offset some of the damaging experiences faced by our children. Many of our recommendations are aligned with those included in this policy brief.
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Medical devices are used for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illness and diseases and for rehabilitation. WHO developed guidance on medical device donation in 2011, which has been now reviewed, with new evidence, new references on considerations for medical device solicitation and provisi...on, risks associated with inappropriate donations, the responsibilities of donors and recipient, and the steps they should follow before, during and after a donation. It includes three sections: description of major problems that may be faced during the donation process, listing of best practices for donors and recipients and addressing situations requiring special attention. It also has three annexes for further reading: the criteria for the acceptability of a donation, literature review on donations of medical devices between 2010 and 2023 and a flyer. This document is intended to improve the quality of medical devices donations, including medical equipment, single-use medical devices and in-vitro diagnostics, to provide maximum benefit to all stakeholders. The considerations can be used to develop institutional or national policies and regulations for medical devices donations. This document is intended for use by any organization, expert or practitioner involved in the donation, procurement, management of medical devices, including health workers, biomedical engineers, health managers, policymakers, donors, nongovernmental organizations and academic institutions.
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Lancet Public health 2022 January 6, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/ S2468-2667(21)00249-8
Growth in the number of individuals living with dementia underscores the need for public health planning efforts and policy to address the needs of this group. Country-level estimates can be used to inform nati...onal planning efforts and decisions. Multifaceted approaches, including scaling up interventions to address modifiable risk factors and investing in research on biological mechanisms, will be key in addressing the expected increases in the number of individuals affected by dementia.
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The publication is designed to provide Ipas staff, trainers, partners and other health-care providers with access to up-to-date, evidence-based recommendations. In general, the recommendations are the same as those in the World Health Organization’s 2012 Safe Abortion: Technical and Policy Guidanc...e for Health Systems, Second edition. In rare cases, the recommendations have been modified due to the settings where Ipas works. In addition, if there is more current evidence to inform the recommendations, they will be updated here.
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The HIV drug resistance report 2021 summarizes findings from 38 countries that had finalized the surveys by the time of this report and shared data with WHO.
Pretreatment HIVDR to non-nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI) can affect more than 10% of adults starting therapy and is fo...und up to 3 times more often in people who had previous exposure to antiretroviral drugs. In addition, nearly half of infants newly diagnosed with HIV has HIVDR to NNRTI before initiating treatment.The high levels of observed NNRTI pretreatment HIVDR among emphasize the need to fast-track the transition to WHO-recommended dolutegravir-based ART.
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This technical brief presents the current options for safe storage and point of use water treatment. It is intended to help field staff working in a variety of locations to decide upon the most appropriate course of action for providing safe water for the communities in which they work. The effectiv...eness of household water treatment options now and in the future rely to a huge extent on user compliance; it is critical that users are involved in the decision making process, and are aware of the purpose, how to use, maintain and manage their household water options. The brief therefore details relevant hygiene promotion steps for the different treatment options.
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These guidelines are designed for settings with limited resources to provide inexpensive and effective control strategies for prevention of TB transmission in health care workers (HCW).
PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0155525 May 19, 2016, 1 / 11
Update 2021; Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals