Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide in 2018, with 570,000 new cases and 311,000 deaths occurring annually.T he highest incidence rates are in Southern Africa, Eastern Africa, SubSaharan Africa, Western Africa, Melanesia, and Middle Africa . It also ranks as the leadin...g cause of cancer-related death in most African countries. More than 85% of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries . In addition, women living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are six times as likely to have cervical cancer
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Independent Monitoring Board of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (Twelfth Report: October 2015)
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 technical note from the Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) examines the risks and benefits of vaccinating pregnant women with WHO-prequalified oral cholera vaccines (OCVs) during mass vaccination campaigns. It highlights that three WHO-approved vaccines (Dukoral®, Shanchol™, and Euv...ichol®) offer sustained protection and a strong safety profile.
While these vaccines are not explicitly contraindicated for pregnant women, there is limited clinical data on their use during pregnancy. However, studies indicate that pregnant women with cholera face higher risks of fetal loss, stillbirth, and complications, especially if they experience severe dehydration. Some evidence suggests that vaccination can reduce cholera incidence in pregnant women and indirectly protect infants.
Although no controlled trials have focused on pregnant women, retrospective studies in Guinea and Zanzibar showed no significant increase in adverse pregnancy outcomes after OCV administration. The GTFCC concludes that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks, particularly in high-risk areas, and recommends including pregnant women in cholera vaccination campaigns while continuing to monitor safety data.
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- The goal of diagnostic testing for Ebola and Marburg virus diseases is to identify cases to provide timely and appropriate care and to stop disease transmission.
- All individuals meeting the case definition for Ebola or Marburg virus diseases should be tested.
- The recommended sample type ...for testing for orthoebolaviruses and orthomarburgviruses is whole blood or plasma for living patients, and oral swab for deceased individuals.
- Laboratory confirmation of Orthoebolavirus and Orthomarburgvirus infections and further species identification should be done using nucleic acid amplification testing (NAAT).
- If a suspected case tests negative (living patient) and the blood was drawn less than 72 hours after symptom onset, a second test should be performed with blood drawn more than 72 hours after symptom onset.
- All manipulations in laboratory settings of samples originating from suspected, probable or confirmed cases of Ebola and Marburg virus diseases should be conducted with appropriate biosafety measures according to a risk-based approach.
- Whole or partial genome sequencing can be used to characterize viruses and complement epidemiologic investigations.
- Member States are strongly encouraged to share genetic sequence data (GSD) in publicly accessible databases.
- Member States are required to immediately notify the World Health Organization (WHO) under the International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 of positive laboratory results.
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This status report shows how far we have come—and how much further we must go—if we hope to meet the global commitments to end AIDS in children. It offers a snapshot of global progress and permits an early assessment of the impact of the Global Alliance’s work.
The checklist tool described in this handbook is intended for EU/EEA public health authorities who need to assess the capacity for communicable disease prevention and control at migrant reception/detention centres hosting migrants for weeks/months (medium-term) in order to identify gaps and set prio...rities for development.
Using this tool, the aim is to monitor and support capacity development to prevent the onset and improve the management of communicable disease outbreaks at medium-term migration reception/detention centres, both on a day-to-day basis and in the event of a sudden influx of migrants.
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Laboratory Biossafety Manual
Eight years after Super Typhoon Haiyan, the most destructive storm to ever hit the Philippines, Super Typhoon Rai brought similar torrential rains, violent winds, mudslides, floods and storm surges to central parts of the Philippines, leaving a wide path of destruction and debris in its wake. While ...not as powerful as Haiyan in terms of wind strength, evidence shows that Rai damaged houses, infrastructure and livelihoods on a comparable scale or in even greater numbers. Most striking, Rai damaged 1.57 million homes, 500,000 more than Haiyan, across 11 of the Philippines 17 regions, with around 180,000-200,000 people still displaced – either still in evacuation centers or staying with friends, family or other temporary housing.
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Asylum and Migration Working Paper 1
Human Rights, Minimum Standards and Monitoring at the European and International Levels