Epidemic response
Response to cutaneous leishmaniasis in Afghanistan and Pakistan
During epidemics, such as the 2002 outbreak in Afghanistan, the WHO emergency plan involved rapid intervention combining preventive and curative measures.
Drugs for mass treatment and insecticide-treated bednets for individual protection were supplied, together with social mobilization and health education to encourage prompt reporting for treatment and use of preventive measures. A particularly promising innovation is the use of insecticide-treated sheeting for refugee shelters. The treated sheeting prevents other insect-borne diseases common in refugee camps. It also reduces the logistics of emergency response considerably by consolidating the need for shelter and vector protection in a single solution.
:: A typical response to an epidemic of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Kabul
- drugs for mass treatment
- guidelines in Pachtoun
- 55 000 long-lasting nets
- rehabilitation of central laboratory
- national coordinator and task force
- research
Response to visceral leishmaniasis epidemic in Eritrea, Ethiopia and eastern Sudan
First-line drugs and dipsticks K39 for serological diagnosis were provided to all three countries, while assessment surveys were carried out in Eritrea and Ethiopia.
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