Health Information Today: WHO

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Sunday, September 6, 2015

Ebola transmission in Liberia over. Nation enters 90-day intensive surveillance period

Today, 3 September 2015, WHO declares Liberia free of Ebola virus transmission in the human population. Forty-two days have passed since the second negative test on 22 July 2015 of the last laboratory-confirmed case. Liberia now enters a 90-day period of heightened surveillance.

Considerations for mass gathering events and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS - CoV) Interim guidance

Publication details

Editors: WHO
Publication date: 5 August 2015
Languages: English

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Considerations for mass gathering events and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS - CoV)
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WHO statement on the tenth meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee regarding MERS

WHO statement
3 September 2015

The tenth meeting of the Emergency Committee (EC) convened by the Director-General under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR 2005) regarding the Middle East respiratory syndrome 1 was held by teleconference on 2 September 2015, from 1300 to 1620 Central European Summer Time (UTC +2). During the meeting the WHO Secretariat provided an update to the Committee on epidemiological and scientific developments, including recent cases and transmission patterns in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. The Secretariat also provided current risk assessments with regard to these events, and information on control and prevention measures.

IHR Emergency Committee concerning MERS-CoV

World Hepatitis Summit harnesses global momentum to eliminate viral hepatitis

http://www.who.int/en/

2 SEPTEMBER 2015 ¦ GLASGOW - Participants at the first-ever World Hepatitis Summit will urge countries to develop national programmes that can ultimately eliminate viral hepatitis as a problem of public health concern.

“We know how to prevent viral hepatitis, we have a safe and effective vaccine for hepatitis B, and we now have medicines that can cure people with hepatitis C and control hepatitis B infection,” said Dr Gottfried Hirnschall, Director of the WHO’s Global Hepatitis Programme. “Yet access to diagnosis and treatment is still lacking or inaccessible in many parts of the world. This summit is a wake-up call to build momentum to prevent, diagnose, treat - and eventually eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health problem.”

Sunday, May 17, 2015

WHO recommends 10 measurements for HIV epidemic

Staff from WHO and partner organizations at the launch of the guidelines in Bangkok, Thailand

Launch of the WHO Consolidated strategic information guidelines for HIV in the health sector

The new Consolidated strategic information guidelines for HIV in the health sector are being launched at the 3rd HIV surveillance consultation starting today in Bangkok, Thailand. The guidelines were developed in partnership with the Global Fund, UNAIDS, UNICEF and the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).11 MAY 2015 | Bangkok, Thailand – The World Health Organization (WHO) released new guidelines recommending simplified indicators to measure the reach of HIV services, and the impact achieved at both the national and global levels.

Egypt: upsurge in H5N1 human and poultry cases but no change in transmission pattern of infection

15 May 2015 – The recent increase in the number of people affected by the avian influenza virus H5N1 in Egypt is not related to virus mutations but rather to more people becoming exposed to infected poultry, according to a recent mission of six organizations assessing the H5N1 situation in the country.

Since November 2014 to 30 April 2015, the period analysed by the international mission, a total of 165 cases, including 48 deaths were reported. This is by far the highest number of human cases ever reported by a country over a similar period. There are indications that H5N1 is circulating in all sectors of poultry production and in all parts of Egypt.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Ebola vaccine efficacy trial ready to launch in Guinea

Ebola response in Koinadugu District, Sierra Leone.

Joint news release WHO/MSF/NIPH

5 MARCH 2015 ¦ GENEVA - Based on promising data from initial clinical trials in late 2014, WHO with the Health Ministry of Guinea, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Epicentre and The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), will launch a Phase III trial in Guinea on 7 March to test the VSV-EBOV vaccine for efficacy and effectiveness to prevent Ebola. The vaccine was developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada. A second vaccine will be tested in a sequential study, as supply becomes available.

Monday, August 11, 2014

WHO Statement on the Meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee Regarding the 2014 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa

WHO statement
8 August 2014

The first meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the Director-General under the International Health Regulations (2005) [IHR (2005)] regarding the 2014 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD, or “Ebola”) outbreak in West Africa was held by teleconference on Wednesday, 6 August 2014 from 13:00 to 17:30 and on Thursday, 7 August 2014 from 13:00 to 18:30 Geneva time (CET).

Members and advisors of the Emergency Committee met by teleconference on both days of the meeting1. The following IHR (2005) States Parties participated in the informational session of the meeting on Wednesday, 6 August 2014: Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria.

During the informational session, the WHO Secretariat provided an update on and assessment of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The above-referenced States Parties presented on recent developments in their countries, including measures taken to implement rapid control strategies, and existing gaps and challenges in the outbreak response.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

World Malaria Day 2014: WHO helps countries assess feasibility of eliminating malaria

24 APRIL 2014 | GENEVA - On World Malaria Day (25 April), WHO is launching a manual to help countries to assess the technical, operational and financial feasibility of moving towards malaria elimination.

WHO’s new guide, "From malaria control to malaria elimination: a manual for elimination scenario planning", will provide these countries with a comprehensive framework to assess different scenarios and timelines for moving towards elimination, depending on programme coverage and funding availability.

“Increased political commitment and the expansion of global malaria investments have saved some 3.3 million lives since 2000,” says Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General at WHO. ”Countries where malaria remains endemic now want to build on this success.”

WHO issues its first hepatitis C treatment guidelines

9 APRIL 2014 | LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - WHO has issued its first guidance for the treatment of hepatitis C, a chronic infection that affects an estimated 130 million to 150 million people and results in 350 000 to 500 000 deaths a year.

The publication of the "WHO Guidelines for the screening, care and treatment of persons with hepatitis C infection" coincides with the availability of more effective and safer oral hepatitis medicines, along with the promise of even more new medicines in the next few years.

“The WHO recommendations are based on a thorough review of the best and latest scientific evidence,” says Dr Stefan Wiktor, who leads WHO’s Global Hepatitis Programme. “The new guidance aims to help countries to improve treatment and care for hepatitis and thereby reduce deaths from liver cancer and cirrhosis.”

Busting the myths about Ebola is crucial to stop the transmission of the disease in Guinea

Dr Saran Tata Camara is one of the health workers who respond to the free 24 hours Ebola hotline.

Will eating raw onions once a day for three days protect me from Ebola? Is it safe to eat mangoes? Is it true that a daily intake of condensed milk can prevent infection with Ebola? These are just some of the questions posed to the health workers responding round the clock to calls received through the free Ebola hotline. With so many Ebola deaths to date, fear has allowed the spread of rumours and misinformation.

WHO/MA Heine

The Ministry of Health of Guinea set up Hotline 115 when it announced the country’s Ebola outbreak on 21 March. Its main goal is to respond to people’s concerns and to be able to quickly refer suspect cases to the isolation ward at Donka hospital in Conakry for further investigation. It currently receives between 200 and 300 calls per day.

Reaching every child: the polio programme leaves its legacy

A child is given polio vaccination on a construction site where the family is living

Four-year-old Pooja lives with her family in a jhuggi – a makeshift shanty made of corrugated iron – on a construction site on the outskirts of Kolkata, where her father has been working for the past few months.

The settlement is crowded with temporary workers and their families living in sheds and slum dwellings in and around the buildings that are under construction. They don’t have access to toilets or safe drinking water.

Pooja’s father’s work is precarious. Once the construction at this site is completed, he and his family will pack up their few possessions and move on, setting up home wherever he can find work.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Dementia: a public health priority

Publication details

Number of pages: 112
Publication date: 2012
Languages: Chinese, English, Russian
ISBN: 978 92 4 156445 8

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Sunday, May 26, 2013

UPDATE ON AVIAN INFLUENZA A (H7N9) IN CHINA

Affected places:

Eight (8) Provinces: Anhui, Fujian, Henan, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shandong and Zhejiang
Two (2) Municipalities: Beijing and Shanghai.

Number of cases:

To date, there are a total of 131 laboratory confirmed human cases with avian influenza A (H7N9) virus including 36 fatalities in China reported.

WHO does not advise special screening at points of entry with regard to this event, nor does it recommend that any travel or trade restrictions be applied.

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