Capacity strengthening during or after disease outbreaks
When outbreaks occur in countries where the WHO Integrated Capacity Development Programme is already involved, teams of experts are sent to the field to assess, develop and strengthen the core competencies for surveillance and response to communicable disease.
Highlights
Senegal:
In October 2002, after the confirmation of 11 cases of yellow fever in the region of Diourbel, Senegal, the country initiated a mass immunization campaign. Technical support was provided in setting up an active adverse events following immunization (AEFI) surveillance system and in assessing the safety of the campaign. See reports in Disease Outbreak News for more details.
Cholera outbreak in Comores:
WHO evaluated the role of the reference laboratory of Comores during the cholera outbreak that occurred in January 2002 (early detection, confirmation, collaboration with epidemiologists). The local outbreak response team was supported by the setting up of a cholera surveillance system, the development of a surveillance protocol and an Epi-Info database producing automated reports.
Cholera outbreak in Katanga province, Democratic Republic of the Congo:
In 2002, WHO carried out a retrospective analysis of the work of the provincial laboratory of Lubumbashi and central laboratory of Kinshasa during the cholera outbreak that occurred between October 2001 and April 2002 in the region. This analysis allowed the integration of laboratory activities in the surveillance and response system to the outbreak to be evaluated and for concrete recommendations to be formulated.