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Managing epidemics - Key facts about major deadly diseases

WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO)
2018

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The manual is structured in three parts.

  • Part One “Epidemics of the 21st century” provides vital insights on the main features of the 21st century upsurge and the indispensable elements to manage them.
  • Part Two “Be in the know. 10 key facts about 15 deadly diseases” contains key information about 15 diseases (Ebola Virus Disease, Lassa Fever, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, Yellow Fever, Zika, Chikungunya, Avian and Other Zoonotic Influenza, Seasonal Influenza, Pandemic Influenza, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, Cholera, Monkeypox, Plague, Leptospirosis and Meningococcal Meningitis). This section provides tips on the interventions required to respond to epidemics of all these diseases.
  • Part Three “Tool boxes” gives an overview and summarized guidance on some other important topics, including: the role of WHO, the International Coordinating Group, laboratory diagnosis and shipment of infectious diseases substances, and vector control.

 

The handbook enables the three levels of WHO – its Headquarters, Regional Offices and Country Offices to work efficiently together by building the foundations of a shared conceptual and thinking framework, which includes common terminology. 

Zika: the origin and spread of a mosquito-borne virus

KINDHAUSER, Mary Kay
ALLEN Tomas
FRANK Veronika
SANTHANAA Ravi Shankar
DYE Christopher
September 2016

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The temporal and geographical distribution of Zika virus infection and associated neurological disorders, from 1947 to 1 February 2016, when Zika became a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) are described following an extensive literature search. During this period a total of 74 countries and territories had reported human Zika virus infections. The timeline in this paper charts the discovery of the virus (1947), its isolation from mosquitos (1948), the first human infection (1952), the initial spread of infection from Asia to a Pacific island (2007), the first known instance of sexual transmission (2008), reports of Guillain-Barré syndrome (2014) and microcephaly (2015) linked to Zika infections and the first appearance of Zika in the Americas (from 2015). The paper concludes that the Zika virus infection in humans appears to have changed in character as its geographical range has expanded from equatorial Africa and Asia. The change is from an endemic, mosquito-borne infection causing mild illness to one that can cause large outbreaks linked with neurological sequelae and congenital abnormalities

 

Detecting Guillain-Barré syndrome caused by Zika virus using systems developed for polio surveillance

KANDEL, Nirmal
LAMICHHANE Jaya
TANGERMANN Rudolf
RODIEA Guenael
September 2016

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With increasing evidence of linkages between Guillain-Barré syndrome and Zika virus infection, the importance of enhancing Guillain-Barré syndrome surveillance is highlighted and use of existing surveillance systems like the one for acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) used by polio eradication programmes is proposed. A process for using the AFP surveillance system for Zika virus surveillance is outlined. Worldwide distribution maps of  Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are presented and control measures following Zika infection testing are listed.

Make Listening Safe

NAKATANI, Jordan
et al
August 2015

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As part of the WHO Make Listening Safe initiative, students of the University of Washington's Speech and Hearing Science Department under the guidance of Dr Kelly Tremblay and in collaboration with the WHO PDH have developed a brief video on recreational noise induced hearing loss

2015 global reference list of 100 core health indicators

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
2015

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“The Global Reference List of 100 Core Health Indicators is a standard set of 100 indicators prioritized by the global community to provide concise information on the health situation and trends, including responses at national and global levels. It contains indicators of relevance to country, regional and global reporting across the spectrum of global health priorities relating to the post-2015 health goals of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These include the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agenda, new and emerging priorities such as noncommunicable diseases, universal health coverage and other issues in the post-2015 development agenda.”

World Health Statistics 2012

WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION (WHO)
2012

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"World Health Statistics 2012 contains WHO’s annual compilation of health-related data for its 194 Member States, and includes a summary of the progress made towards achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and associated targets. This year, it also includes highlight summaries on the topics of noncommunicable diseases, universal health coverage and civil registration coverage"
Note: The summary brochure, full report, report in English by section, the indicator compendium and printed copy order forms are available from the link above

Global status report on noncommunicable diseases 2010

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
2011

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"This report sets out the statistics, evidence and experiences needed to launch a more forceful response to the growing threat posed by noncommunicable diseases. While advice and recommendations are universally relevant, the report gives particular attention to conditions in low- and middle-income countries, which now bear nearly 80% of the burden from diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases. The health consequences of the worldwide epidemic of obesity are also addressed"

World health statistics 2010

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
2010

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This annual compilation of health-related data for the World Health Organization's 193 member states, includes a summary of the progress made towards achieving the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and associated targets

Mental health and psychosocial support in humanitarian emergencies : what should humanitarian health actors know

IASC REFERENCE GROUP FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT IN EMERGENCY SETTINGS
2010

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"This document is for humanitarian health actors working at national and sub-national level in countries facing emergencies and crises. It applies to Health Cluster partners, including governmental and non-governmental health service providers. Based on the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings (IASC, 2007), this document gives an overview of essential knowledge that humanitarian health actors should have about mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in humanitarian emergencies"

World health statistics 2009

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
2009

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This book contains WHO’s annual compilation of data from its 193 Member States, and includes a summary of progress towards the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and targets. This edition also contains a new section on reported cases of selected infectious diseases. An online version of this publication and metadata describing the sources, estimation methods and the quality of estimates is available at http://www.who.int/statistics. The online version will be regularly updated as new data become available during 2009

Measuring transparency in the public pharmaceutical sector : assement instrument

BAGHDADI-SABETI, Guitelle
COHEN-KOHLER, John Clare
WONDEMAGEGNEHU, Eshetu
2009

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The objective of this instrument is to help stakeholders carry out assessments to measure the level of transparency and the vulnerability to corruption in selected areas of the public pharmaceutical sector. It provides an assessment methodology together with a questionnaire for national assessors to systematically collect information and perceptions through interviews of relevant health professionals in the public and private sectors

Towards universal access : scaling up priority HIV/AIDS interventions in the health sector : progress report 2008

WORLD HEALTH ORGNAIZATION (WHO)
JOINT UNITED NATIONS PROGRAMME ON HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND (UNICEF)
2008

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This report provides in-depth information on: treatment and care for people living with HIV; HIV testing and counselling; health sector interventions for HIV prevention; scaling up HIV services for women and children; strengthening health systems and health information; and towards universal access as the way forward

Manual for the health care of children in humanitarian emergencies

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
2008

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These guidelines are to assist in the care of children in emergencies. They are designed to serve as a reference manual for the evaluation and management of children in emergencies, and as the basis for the training of health care workers. The target audience is first level health workers who provide care to children under the age of 5 years. Physicians and health care workers with more advanced training are referred to the WHO Pocket Book of Hospital Care for Children: Guidelines for the Management of Common Illnesses with Limited Resources (2005)

Monitoring vital events resource kit : stepping stones for strengthening vital statistics systems

HEALTH METRICS NETWORK
2007

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This resource kit is intended to aid national agencies, development partners and technical experts to strengthen the monitoring of vital events by providing easy, user-friendly access to technical documents relating to civil registration, cause of death attribution, sentinel and sample registration with verbal autopsy, and demographic surveillance. Timely and reliable information on vital events is useful for governance and a basic underpinning of public health, yet in most developing countries, monitoring of these events is limited: births and deaths go unregistered and causes of death patterns remain poorly understood. The kit is available as a CD-ROM or online

eHealth tools and services : needs of the member states. Report of the WHO Global Observatory for eHealth

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) GLOBAL OBSERVATORY FOR EHEALTH
2006

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This is a report on some of the findings of a global survey on eHealth carried out by the Global Observatory for eHealth (GOe), concerning the needs for eHealth tools and services. The survey found that WHO Member States would welcome an active involvement of WHO in the development of generic eHealth tools, while particularly non-OECD members would benefit form guidance on eHealth issues. It also found that needs vary even among OECD countries, and that existing eHealth tools and services should be better known. The report recommends that WHO should actively intervene in the provision of generic tools (eg, drug registries, patient record systems, health professional directories), facilitate access to existing tools, promote knowledge exchange, provide eHealth information and promote eLearning programmes

Advocacy, communication and social mobilization to stop TB : a 10-year framework for action

ASCM SUBGROUP AT COUNTRY LEVEL
2006

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This workplan focuses on how advocacy, communication and social mobilitation can contribute to TB control policies and programmes. In particular, it aims to: provide guidance to national initiatives designed to implement the Global Plan TB 2006-2025; foster advocacy, communication and social mobilization capacity (ACSM); and encourage behavioural and social changes, tailored to specific local context, that will result in increased TB case detection and cure rates. A successful strategy will need to: develop national and sub-national ACSM capacity; build inclusion of patients and communities affected; ensure political commitment and accountability; build country-level ACSM partnerships; learn and build on good ACSM practices. This is key tool for policy makers, at national and local level, health authorities and organisations working with TB and health communication

Opportunities for Africa's newborns : practical data, policy and programmatic support for newborn care in Africa

LAWN, Joy
KERBER, Kate
2006

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The African region has the highest rates of neonatal mortality in the world, and has shown the slowest progress so far in reducing neonatal deaths. New policies, however, seem to provide opportunities to accelerate progress for maternal, newborn and child health. Section 1 presents an overview of neonatal deaths, and lives that could be saved in Africa in order to guide policy and programme priority setting. Section 2 explores the the continuum of care through pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period, highlighting current gaps in coverage of care and opportunities to address these gaps at all levels - family and community care, outreach services, and primary and referral care facilities. Section 3 contains an overview of the current situation for 9 key programmes related to newborn health. Section 4 discusses lessons learned and existing gaps between new policies and their implementation. Section 5, finally, contains a summary of relevant data for decision making for 46 countries in sub-Saharan Africa regarding maternal, newborn and child health status and policy. This accessible and comprehensive tool will be of use to policy makers, health and community workers and programme managers

Starting or strengthening a drug bulletin : a practical manual

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF DRUG BULLETINS
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
2005

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Access to independent and reliable drug information is key to the promotion of rational prescribing and use of medicines. Bulletins are essential tools for information dissemination and this manual aims to provide guidelines, tips and examples on how to start or improve drug bulletins. It covers all aspects of production, providing a comprehensive overview of the editorial process, the reviewing of new drugs and the design, production and distribution of the bulletin. The manual is an essential guide for anyone starting or running a drug bulletin, but may also be of interest to health professionals and others

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E-bulletin