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Mashup Score: 7Rapid diagnostic test: a critical need for outbreak preparedness and response for high priority pathogens - 9 day(s) ago
Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are critical for preparedness and response against an outbreak or pandemic and have been highlighted in the 100 Days Mission, a global initiative that aims to prepare the world for the next epidemic/pandemic by driving the development of diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics within 100 days of recognition of a novel Disease X threat. RDTs play a pivotal role in early case identification, surveillance and case management, and are critical for initiating deployment of vaccine and monoclonal antibodies. Currently available RDTs, however, have limited clinical sensitivity and specificity and inadequate validation. The development, validation and implementation of RDTs require adequate and sustained financing from both public and private sources. While the World Health Assembly recently passed a resolution on diagnostic capacity strengthening that urges individual Member States to commit resources towards this, the resolution is not binding and implementation
Source: gh.bmj.comCategories: General Medicine News, Infectious DiseaseTweet
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Mashup Score: 3Homepage | BMJ Global Health - 16 day(s) ago
BMJ Global Health is an open access journal publishing high-quality peer-reviewed content relevant to those involved in global health.
Source: gh.bmj.comCategories: General Medicine News, General HCPsTweet
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Mashup Score: 12Stuck in ‘the field’: why applied epidemiology needs to go home - 29 day(s) ago
Between December 2010 and January 2011, 16 children presented to a mission hospital, in what at the time was, the Brong Ahafo Region (BAR) of Ghana, with unusual forms of seizure and paralysis. Initial testing suggested that the cause was B virus, a zoonotic monkey-borne virus not previously seen in Africa. These unexpected and concerning results spurred national public health authorities to deploy a field epidemiology team from the capital. Although short-lived, the findings from their investigation implicated a local monkey population occupying a forest belt which stretched along all of the affected communities. Newly collected samples were sent to a foreign reference laboratory for confirmatory testing, but no results were reported back. In the interim, several transnational research coalitions were formed to investigate the outbreak further. One did manage to obtain some confirmatory testing and the results suggested that B virus was not the cause of the outbreak. This prompted the
Source: gh.bmj.comCategories: General Medicine News, Infectious DiseaseTweet
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Mashup Score: 0
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are a leading health and development challenge worldwide. Since 2015, WHO and the United Nations Development Programme have provided support to governments to develop national NCD investment cases to describe the socioeconomic dimensions of NCDs. To assess the impact of the investment cases, semistructured interviews and a structured process for gathering written feedback were conducted between July and October 2022 with key informants in 13 countries who had developed a national NCD investment case between 2015 and 2020. Investment cases describe: (1) the social and economic costs of NCDs, including their distribution and projections over time; (2) priority areas for scaled up action; (3) the cost and returns from investing in WHO-recommended measures to prevent and manage NCDs; and (4) the political dimensions of NCD responses. While no country had implemented all the recommendations set out in their investment case reports, actions and policy changes
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Mashup Score: 3Homepage | BMJ Global Health - 29 day(s) ago
BMJ Global Health is an open access journal publishing high-quality peer-reviewed content relevant to those involved in global health.
Source: gh.bmj.comCategories: General Medicine News, General HCPsTweet
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Mashup Score: 72Turning crisis into opportunity: sustaining COVID-19 gains in resource-constrained and fragile settings - 1 month(s) ago
### Summary box In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, discussions on strengthening global and national pandemic preparedness have reopened. In September 2023, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly hosted a meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, at which heads of government issued a political declaration for safeguarding against future pandemic risks. The prevailing sentiment on preparedness was gloomy. Indeed, a recent report highlights ‘significant weaknesses or declining capacities in several critical areas of preparedness’.1 At the heart of these deliberations lies a global consensus that forthcoming preparedness plans must prioritise equity and inclusivity: global health security will only be achieved when our most vulnerable nations are also adequately prepared. In September the same year, another UN meeting was convened on universal health coverage (UHC), hoping to reinvigorate the process to deliver health for all, and in October a political declarati
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Mashup Score: 11Maternal and perinatal health research during emerging and ongoing epidemic threats: a landscape analysis and expert consultation - 2 month(s) ago
Introduction Pregnant women and their offspring are often at increased direct and indirect risks of adverse outcomes during epidemics and pandemics. A coordinated research response is paramount to ensure that this group is offered at least the same level of disease prevention, diagnosis, and care as the general population. We conducted a landscape analysis and held expert consultations to identify research efforts relevant to pregnant women affected by disease outbreaks, highlight gaps and challenges, and propose solutions to addressing them in a coordinated manner. Methods Literature searches were conducted from 1 January 2015 to 22 March 2022 using Web of Science, Google Scholar and PubMed augmented by key informant interviews. Findings were reviewed and Quid analysis was performed to identify clusters and connectors across research networks followed by two expert consultations. These formed the basis for the development of an operational framework for maternal and perinatal research
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Mashup Score: 4Designathons in health research: a global systematic review - 2 month(s) ago
Introduction A designathon is a three-stage participatory activity informed by design thinking. There is a growing literature on designathons in health. This study synthesised designathons’ effectiveness and implementation-related factors to address health challenges. Methods We searched Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, Scopus and the ClinicalTrials.gov registry for articles containing primary data on designathons for health from their dates of inception to 29 November 2022. We retrieved additional studies from citation searching and a complementary open call. We synthesised data on designathons’ effectiveness (ie, engagement, outputs and implementation), required resources and implementation-related factors (ie, resources, facilitators, barriers, strengths and limitations). We assessed the risk of bias using a checklist adapted from Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal tools. Results In total, 4973 citations were identified, and 42 studies were included. In total, 26 studies (6
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Mashup Score: 10Patient–physician communication on herbal medicine use during pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis - 2 month(s) ago
Introduction Lack of transparent communication between patients and physicians regarding the use of herbal medicine (HM) presents a major public health challenge, as inappropriate HM use poses health risks. Considering the widespread use of HM and the risk of adverse events, it is crucial for pregnant women to openly discuss their HM use with healthcare providers. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aims to estimate the pooled prevalence of pregnant women’s HM use and disclosure to healthcare providers and to examine the relationship between HM disclosure and various maternal and child health (MCH) measures. Methods A systematic search of five databases was conducted for cross-sectional studies on HM use during pregnancy published from 2000 to 2023. Data extraction followed a standardised approach, and Stata V.16.0 was used for data analysis. Also, Spearman’s correlation coefficient was calculated to examine the association between use and disclosure of HM and various M
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Mashup Score: 5
Introduction Infectious disease outbreaks have historically led to widespread disruptions in routine essential health services. Disruptions due to COVID-19 responses led to excess deaths, including among women and children. This review builds on earlier reviews of essential health services in national COVID-19 response and preparedness plans, focusing specifically on maternal, newborn, child, adolescent and ageing health (MNCAAH) in the context of renewed global emphasis on monitoring, recovering and strengthening these services. Methods Using Google searches, we identified publicly available COVID-19 response and preparedness plans authored by a national government body or Public Health Institute from any country, territory and/or area, published between January 2020 and December 2022. We assessed whether each plan considered maintenance of MNCAAH services with related activities, costing or monitoring plans, and whether these considerations were integrated into the national incident
Source: gh.bmj.comCategories: General Medicine News, General HCPsTweet
Rapid diagnostic test: a critical need for outbreak preparedness and response for high priority pathogens - great to see this! RDTs have a role beyond diagnosis and can be super helpful for timely detection & response. https://t.co/Mq5ysdiG92