In conversations with people living with polio in Hungary, I often encountered members of the tight-knit community referring to themselves as “dinosaurs”.
We are a breed that is about to die out, they said. Nobody gets polio anymore, some added, and they were right – epidemics, even sporadic wild polio cases disappeared from the country in the 1960s.
Since March 2014, over 3,000 people have died from the relentless spread of the Ebola virus throughout the West African countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria.
Despite the heroic efforts of the humanitarian and medical professionals in these countries, crumbling public health systems—which were notoriously weak even before the current outbreak began—and a lack of facilities, equipment and medical staff have tragically not been able to stem the tide in these countries.
Rift Valley fever (RVF) is an important neglected, emerging, mosquito-borne disease with severe negative impact on human and animal health. Mosquitoes in the Aedes genus have been considered as the reservoir, as well as vectors, since their transovarially infected eggs withstand desiccation and larvae hatch when in contact with water. However, different mosquito species serve as epizootic/epidemic vectors of RVF, creating a complex epidemiologic pattern in East Africa. The recent RVF outbreaks in Somalia (2006–2007), Kenya (2006–2007), Tanzania (2007), and Sudan (2007–2008) showed extension to districts, which were not involved before.
These outbreaks also demonstrated the changing epidemiology of the disease from being originally associated with livestock, to a seemingly highly virulent form infecting humans and causing considerably high-fatality rates. The amount of rainfall is considered to be the main factor initiating RVF outbreaks. The interaction between rainfall and local environment,
In the three West African countries most affected by the recent Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak,resistance to public health measures contributed to the startling speed and persistence of this epidemic in the region. But how do we explain this resistance, and how have people in these communities understood their actions? By comparing these recent events to historical precedents during Cholera outbreaks in Europe in the 19th century we show that these events have not been new to history or unique to Africa.
Community resistance must be analysed in context and go beyond simple singlevariable determinants. Knowledge and respect of the cultures and beliefs of the afflicted is essential for dealing with threatening disease outbreaks and their potential social violence.
Cholera remains an important public health concern in developing countries including Kenya where 11,769 cases and 274 deaths were reported in 2009 according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This ecological study investigates the impact of various climatic, environmental, and demographic variables on the spatial distribution of cholera cases in Kenya. District-level data was gathered from Kenya’s Division of Disease Surveillance and Response, the Meteorological Department, and the National Bureau of Statistics. The data included the entire population of Kenya from 1999 to 2009.
Multivariate analyses showed that districts had an increased risk of cholera outbreaks when a greater proportion of the population lived more than five kilometers from a health facility (RR: 1.025 per 1% increase; 95% CI: 1.010, 1.039),bordered a body of water (RR: 5.5; 95% CI: 2.472, 12.404), experienced increased rainfall from October to December(RR: 1.003 per 1 mm increase;
Cholera is generally regarded as the prototypical waterborne and environmental disease. In Africa, available studies are scarce, and the relevance of this disease paradigm is questionable. Cholera outbreaks have been repeatedly reported far from the coasts: from 2009 through 2011, three-quarters of all cholera cases in Africa occurred in inland regions. Such outbreaks are either influenced by rainfall and subsequent floods or by drought- and water-induced stress.
Their concurrence with global climatic events has also been observed. In lakes and rivers, aquatic reservoirs of Vibrio cholerae have been evocated. However, the role of these reservoirs in cholera epidemiology has not been established. Starting from inland cholera-endemic areas, epidemics burst and spread to various environments, including crowded slums and refugee camps. Human displacements constitute a major determinant of this spread.
The training manual has two parts. Part 1 covers ethical issues in research and surveillance, such as conflicts that might arise between the common good and individual autonomy, ethics oversight and publication ethics. Part 2 covers patient care, including triage, standards of care and the professional duties of healthcare workers in emergencies.The teaching resources are modular, comprising seven core competences and 26 learning objectives, each with a dedicated module.
The modules are based on various types of instruction and activities (e.g. case study, lecture, group discussion, role play, video) to meet the learning objective. Slide sets were prepared for the lectures under each learning objective and summary slide sets for each core competence. At the end of the manual, you will find a compilation of all of the case studies used throughout the manual.
The Ebola response in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea demonstrated that community engagement is critical in responding to epidemics. This was not always a guiding principle in the fight against Ebola, which initially prioritized biomedical and militarized responses. Working in partnership with communities – providing space to listen and acknowledge distinct needs – only came later in the response. Incorporating communities in different aspects of the response was partly hampered by the inflexibility of some agencies, which wanted to promote a perfect model for community engagement.
Arguably, these tended to overlook the diversity within communities, and did not respond to the realities of Ebola’s spread.During an inter-agency social mobilization workshop organized by Oxfam in September 2015, a group of practitioners and technical experts agreed that it would be best to explore diverse models of community empowerment and action that adhered to specific key principles rather than promote a fixed ‘one size fits…
In 2012 Uganda experienced many disease outbreaks including Measles, Ebola, Marburg and Nodding disease. Two Ebola outbreaks and one Marburg event were in quick succession and placed the Ministry of Health and the Uganda Red Cross (URCS) as well as other partners under significant pressure to respond to one of the world’s deadliest diseases in three separate locations.
The objectives of the evaluation included: 1. Review current operating procedures of URCS’ epidemic response including the roles and responsibilities of URCS in relation to MoH, WHO and other partners as well as internal structures for coordination and integrations of activities across departments. 2. Review the operational effectiveness and accountability of the response against planned outcomes and the use of DREF funds against proposed activities 3. Evaluate the response of URCS to epidemics, against the needs of beneficiaries and communities focused on the areas of most ‘added value’ of the URCS;
As a country suffering from large-scale AI outbreaks and receiving considerable international support, Vietnam provides a crucial case not to be missed in any analysis of the global AI crisis. Vietnam is also interesting because of two paradoxes in her response to AI. Despite being poor, Vietnam selected the most expensive approach (comprehensive vaccination) to disease control. Despite substantial foreign aid and praise lavished on Vietnam, and despite a tough strategy, Vietnam has not performed better than neighbouring countries in keeping the epidemic from coming back. Based on interviews of various stakeholders and newspaper sources since 2003, this paper analyses the timeline of major events, key narratives driving the debate, and the main actor networks in the policy process.
The author found Vietnam’s AI policy process was characterised by top down/technical perspectives supported by the central government and foreign donors. These narratives reinforced the political interests of a national/international elite.
