Vaccination of Ebola contacts in Guinea

Vaccination of Ebola contacts, Guinea
WHO Guinea/Lancei Touré

31 March 2016 -- Hundreds of people who may have been in contact with 8 individuals infected with Ebola virus in Guinea have been vaccinated with the experimental Ebola vaccine in a bid to contain the latest flare-up of Ebola. The VSV-EBOV vaccine currently being administered was found to be highly effective in preventing Ebola infection in a large trial conducted by Guinea’s Ministry of Health, WHO and partner agencies last year.

WHO calls for early diagnostic tests for lassa fever

The Lassa fever virus is transmitted to humans from direct contact with infected rats through catching and preparing them for food.
WHO/ M. Hotowossi, K. Vewonyi

01 April 2016 -- Lassa fever has killed more than 160 people in West Africa, most of them in Nigeria, since November 2015. Many of these lives could have been saved if a rapid diagnostic test were available so that people could receive treatment early. Also around 80% of people who become infected with Lassa virus have no symptoms or they have symptoms that mimic other illnesses, such as malaria, making it difficult to treat them.

Ebola is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern

IHR Emergency Committee on Ebola, 29 March 2016
WHO/C. Black

29 March 2016 -- The 9th meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the WHO Director-General under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) regarding the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa took place on 29 March 2016. In the Committee’s view, the Ebola situation in West Africa no longer constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern and the temporary recommendations adopted in response should now be terminated.

Urban health: major opportunities for improving global health

Young boys crowd around a water point in Gulu Uganda
EPA

31 March 2016 --New data on the health of city-dwellers in almost 100 countries show that as the world’s urban population continues to grow, health inequities are a persistent challenge. The report presents solutions for ensuring accessibility to water and sanitation, reducing urban sprawl, developing new transport options, increasing road safety, making cities age-friendly and accessible for persons with disabilities, managing urban health emergencies and creating healthier homes.

Mental health services in Liberia

Arms raised, the leader of the training session leads participants in an introductory exercise.
WHO/A. Brunier

31 March 2016 -- As many as 1 in 5 Liberians suffer a mild to moderate mental disorder, yet, until recently, the vast majority of health workers in the country had a limited understanding of mental illness. This is changing as WHO and partners are helping to equip health workers across the country with the skills to provide front-line care for people with mental illness.

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Outbreaks and emergencies

Ebola outbreak » MERS-CoV outbreak » Zika virus and complications » Emergencies »

World Health Day - 7 April

World Health Day 2016 poster

World Health Day 2016: Beat diabetes

Highlights

  • General Assembly proclaims the Decade of Action on Nutrition
    April 2016 -- The United Nations General Assembly today agreed a resolution proclaiming the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition from 2016 to 2025. The resolution aims to trigger intensified action to end hunger and eradicate malnutrition worldwide, and ensure universal access to healthier and more sustainable diets.
  • The Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER) celebrates 90 years
    April 2016 -- On 1 April 1926, epidemiologists in the Health Office of the League of Nations, Geneva created the first WER. The publication's mission was to provide the world with information about disease hazards that, at that time, mostly travelled by sea: plague, cholera, yellow fever, typhus and smallpox.
  • A global course for healthy ageing
    April 2016 -- A new supplemental issue of The Gerontologist contains 12 articles that expand upon the major themes of the landmark WHO World report on ageing and health released in late 2015.

Disease outbreak news

Emergency reform

WHO is reforming its work in outbreaks and emergencies with health and humanitarian consequences to ensure the Organization can respond rapidly to future crises.

Zika virus and complications

After a spike in cases of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome, strongly suspected to be associated with Zika virus, WHO declared a public health emergency.

Commentary

Quote from Dr Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health:

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Dr Chan, WHO Director-General, visits Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, three of the four countries where indigenous transmission of wild poliovirus has not yet been interrupted.
WHO

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