WHO

WHO Vector Control Advisory Group emergency meeting deliberates vector control tools
14 March 2016 | Geneva −− A two-day emergency meeting of the Vector Control Advisory Group (VCAG) got underway today to discuss the use of new vector control tools. Experts are reviewing available evidence on proposed vector control tools and identify potential gaps that might limit the roll-out of these methods.

Besides deliberating on existing vector control tools and their potential, discussions will focus on evidence gathered so far on the use of some new tools including:

• Wolbachia
• Transgenic mosquitoes ‘Oxitec OX513A
• Sterile Insect Technique (SIT)
• Vector traps
• Attractive Toxic Sugar Baits (ATSB)

The two-day meeting in Geneva, Switzerland also brings together innovators who are scheduled to provide evidence gathered from diverse conditions. Assessment of each method will be done along with the feasibility of the intervention and its resource implications.

At the end of the meeting a position statement is expected on existing and new vector control tools for use in Zika emergency response.

VCAG is a joint programme of WHO’s Global Malaria Programme (GMP) and NTD.

WHO-Zikasitrep_4Mar2016

WHO

**  Between 1 January 2007 and 25 February 2016, a total of 52 countries and territories have reported autochthonous (local) transmission of Zika virus, including those where the outbreak is now over and countries and territories that provided indirect evidence of local transmission.

**  Among the 52 countries and territories, Marshall Islands, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago are the latest to report autochthonous transmission of Zika virus.  The geographical distribution of Zika virus has steadily widened since the virus was first detected in the Americas in 2015.  Autochthonous Zika virus transmission has been reported in 31 countries and territories of this region. Zika virus is likely to be transmitted and detected in other countries within the geographical range of competent mosquito vectors, especially Aedes aegypti.  

**  So far an increase in microcephaly cases and other neonatal malformations have only been reported in Brazil and French Polynesia, although two cases linked to a stay in Brazil were detected in two other countries.  

**  During 2015 and 2016, eight countries and territories have reported an increased incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and/or laboratory confirmation of a Zika virus infection among GBS cases.   

**  Evidence that neurological disorders, including microcephaly and GBS, are linked to Zika virus infection remains circumstantial, but a growing body of clinical and epidemiological data points towards a causal role for Zika virus.  

PAHO

Washington, D.C., Feb. 22, 2016 (PAHO/WHO)—The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Margaret Chan, and the director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Carissa F. Etienne, are meeting this week with top Brazilian officials, including Minister of Health Marcelo Castro, to assess the Zika virus situation and response.

In their visit to Brazil, Chan and Etienne will meet with President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at the Presidential Palace. They are scheduled to visit the National Center for Risk and Disaster Management (Cenad) for discussions with top cabinet members, including the ministers of health, national integration, defense, foreign affairs, social development and fight against hunger alleviation, as well as the secretary of government and the executive secretary of the Ministry of Education.

As part of their assessment of actions taken by Brazil in response to Zika virus infection and its possible consequences, Chan and Etienne will be in Recife, Pernambuco, on Feb. 24 to visit the Institute of Integrative Medicine Professor Fernando Figueira (IMIP), a clinical research center that is the National Referral Center for Mother and Child Care Programs. WHO Executive Director for Outbreaks and Health Emergencies Bruce Aylward will accompany them.

Chan, Etienne and Castro are slated to hold a press conference on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 17:00h, at PAHO/WHO headquarters in Brasilia.

Media Advisory

WHAT: Press Briefing on Brazil’s response to Zika virus infection and its possible consequences

WHO: Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO
Carissa F. Etienne, Director of PAHO
Marcelo Castro, Minister of Health of Brazil

WHEN: Wednesday, February 24, 1700h

WHERE: Office of the Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization (PAHO / WHO)
Northern Embassy Sector, Lot 19, CEP 70800-400, Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil

HOW: In person or live on TV NBR,
Web Radio Health: webradio.saude.gov.br/radio or
Twitter/Periscope Ministry of Health @minsaude

Links:

PAHO Zika: www.paho.org/zikavirus

Media Contacts:

In Brasilia, Brazil:
Luis Felipe Sardenberg, cunhaslui@paho.org, +55 61 3251-9581

In Washington, D.C.:
Media team: mediateam@paho.org,
Leticia Linn: linnl@paho.org, +1 202 974 3440
Daniel Epstein: epsteind@paho.org, +1 202 974 3579
Sonia Mey-Schmidt: maysonia@paho.org, + 1 202 974 3036

In Geneva, Switzerland:
Media team: mediainquiries@who.int

WHO-Zika-BloodDonate

WHO

The 10 leading causes of death in the world, 2000 and 2012

Ischaemic heart disease, stroke, lower respiratory infections and chronic obstructive lung disease have remained the top major killers during the past decade.

HIV deaths decreased slightly from 1.7 million (3.2%) deaths in 2000 to 1.5 million (2.7%) deaths in 2012. Diarrhoea is no longer among the 5 leading causes of death, but is still among the top 10, killing 1.5 million people in 2012.

Chronic diseases cause increasing numbers of deaths worldwide. Lung cancers (along with trachea and bronchus cancers) caused 1.6 million (2.9%) deaths in 2012, up from 1.2 million (2.2%) deaths in 2000. Similarly, diabetes caused 1.5 million (2.7%) deaths in 2012, up from 1.0 million (2.0%) deaths in 2000.

Major causes of death

Q: How many people die every year?

In 2012, an estimated 56 million people died worldwide.

Q: What kills more people: infectious diseases or noncommunicable diseases?

Noncommunicable diseases were responsible for 68% of all deaths globally in 2012, up from 60% in 2000. The 4 main NCDs are cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic lung diseases. Communicable, maternal, neonatal and nutrition conditions collectively were responsible for 23% of global deaths, and injuries caused 9% of all deaths.

Q: Are cardiovascular diseases the number 1 cause of death throughout the world?

Yes, cardiovascular diseases killed 17.5 million people in 2012, that is 3 in every 10 deaths. Of these, 7.4 million people died of ischaemic heart disease and 6.7 million from stroke.

Q: Do most NCD deaths occur in high-income countries?

In terms of number of deaths, 28 million (about three quarters) of the 38 million of global NCD deaths in 2012 occurred in low- and middle-income countries.

In terms of proportion of deaths that are due to NCDs, high-income countries have the highest proportion – 87% of all deaths were caused by NCDs – followed by upper-middle income countries (81%). The proportions are lower in low-income countries (37%) and lower-middle income countries (57%).

Q: WHO often says that smoking is a top cause of death. Where does tobacco use affect these causes of death?

Tobacco use is a major cause of many of the world’s top killer diseases – including cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive lung disease and lung cancer. In total, tobacco use is responsible for the death of about 1 in 10 adults worldwide. Smoking is often the hidden cause of the disease recorded as responsible for death.

Q: What are the main differences between rich and poor countries with respect to causes of death?

In high-income countries, 7 in every 10 deaths are among people aged 70 years and older. People predominantly die of chronic diseases: cardiovascular diseases, cancers, dementia, chronic obstructive lung disease or diabetes. Lower respiratory infections remain the only leading infectious cause of death. Only 1 in every 100 deaths is among children under 15 years.

In low-income countries, nearly 4 in every 10 deaths are among children under 15 years, and only 2 in every 10 deaths are among people aged 70 years and older. People predominantly die of infectious diseases: lower respiratory infections, HIV/AIDS, diarrhoeal diseases, malaria and tuberculosis collectively account for almost one third of all deaths in these countries. Complications of childbirth due to prematurity, and birth asphyxia and birth trauma are among the leading causes of death, claiming the lives of many newborns and infants.

Q: How has the situation changed in the past decade?

Ischaemic heart disease, stroke, lower respiratory infections and chronic obstructive lung disease have remained the top major killers during the past decade.

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) were responsible for 68% (38 million) of all deaths globally in 2012, up from 60% (31 million) in 2000. Cardiovascular diseases alone killed 2.6 million more people in 2012 than in the year 2000.

HIV deaths decreased slightly from 1.7 million (3.2%) deaths in 2000 to 1.5 million (2.7%) deaths in 2012. Diarrhoea is no longer among the 5 leading causes of death, but is still among the top 10, killing 1.5 million people in 2012.

Tuberculosis, while no longer among the 10 leading causes of death in 2012, was still among the 15 leading causes, killing over 900 000 people in 2012.

Maternal deaths have dropped from 427 000 in the year 2000 to 289 000 in 2013, but are still unacceptably high: nearly 800 women die due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth every day.

Injuries continue to kill 5 million people each year. Road traffic injuries claimed nearly 3500 lives each day in 2012 – more than 600 more than in the year 2000 – making it among the 10 leading causes in 2012.

Q: How many young children die each year, and why?

In 2012, 6.6 million children died before reaching their fifth birthday; almost all (99%) of these deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries. The major killers of children aged less than 5 years were prematurity, pneumonia, birth asphyxia and birth trauma, and diarrhoeal diseases. Malaria was still a major killer in sub-Saharan Africa, causing about 15% of under 5 deaths in the region.

About 44% of deaths in children younger than 5 years in 2012 occurred within 28 days of birth – the neonatal period. The most important cause of death was prematurity, which was responsible for 35% of all deaths during this period.

Reuters

WHO Summary

• WHO has called for a coordinated and multisectoral response through an inter-agency Strategic Response Framework focusing on response, surveillance and research.
• 39 countries have reported locally acquired circulation of the virus since January 2007. Geographical distribution of the virus has steadily expanded.
• Six countries (Brazil, French Polynesia, El Salvador, Venezuela, Colombia and Suriname) have reported an increase in the incidence of cases of microcephaly and/or Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in conjunction with an outbreak of the Zika virus. Puerto Rico and Martinique have reported cases of GBS associated with Zika virus infection without an increase of incidence. No scientific evidence to date confirms a link between Zika virus and microcephaly or GBS.
• Women’s reproductive health has been thrust into the limelight with the spread of the Zika virus. The latest evidence suggests that Zika virus infection during pregnancy may be linked to microcephaly in newborn babies.
• WHO advice on travel to Zika-affected countries includes advice for pregnant women as well as women who are trying to become pregnant and their sexual partners.

UN_Final_Report_Global_Response_to_Health_Crises_2-5-2016

The panels three top-priority steps:

1. Creation by the World Health Organization (WHO) of a new “Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response” that has real command and control capacity and can access the personnel and resources it needs to respond.
2. Countries should meet their required International Health Regulations capacities, and those that aren’t able should receive global support to implement them, the panel advised.
3. Provide financing in three areas: helping countries meet their IHR obligations, funding the proposed new WHO emergency center, and supporting the research and development of vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics.

WHO_Unfit-BMJ-2016

CIDRAP

Jan 28 BMJ commentary

The group lays out six examples of what is wrong with the WHO:

• Prioritizing political over technical considerations
• Failing to promote based on merit, and failing to emphasize crisis response competencies
• Being aloof from non-government groups
• Lacking internal and external accountability
• Undertaking restructure and reform with no observable leap in performance
• Not having sufficient flexible funding for crisis functions

Agree or disagree?

WHO

Films showing smoking scenes should be rated to protect children from tobacco addiction

1 FEBRUARY 2016 | GENEVA – WHO is calling on governments to rate movies that portray tobacco use in a bid to prevent children and adolescents from starting to smoke cigarettes and use other forms of tobacco.

Movies showing use of tobacco products have enticed millions of young people worldwide to start smoking, according to the new WHO “Smoke-free movies: from evidence to action”, the third edition since its launch in 2009.

• Smoke-free movies: from evidence to action

“With ever tighter restrictions on tobacco advertising, film remains one of the last channels exposing millions of adolescents to smoking imagery without restrictions,” says Dr Douglas Bettcher, WHO’s Director for the Department of Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases.

Taking concrete steps, including rating films with tobacco scenes and displaying tobacco warnings before films with tobacco, can stop children around the world from being introduced to tobacco products and subsequent tobacco-related addiction, disability and death.

“Smoking in films can be a strong form of promotion for tobacco products,” adds Dr Bettcher. “The 180 Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) are obliged by international law to ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.”

Movies hook millions of young people on tobacco

Studies in the United States of America have shown that on-screen smoking accounts for 37% of all new adolescent smokers. In 2014, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that in the United States alone, exposure to on-screen smoking would recruit more than 6 million new, young smokers from among American children in 2014, of which 2 million would ultimately die from tobacco-induced diseases.

In 2014, smoking was found in 44% of all Hollywood films, and 36% of films rated for young people. Almost two thirds (59%) of top-grossing films featured tobacco imagery between 2002 and 2014. That same year, the US Surgeon General reported that adult ratings of future films with smoking would reduce smoking rates among young people in the USA by nearly one-fifth and avert 1 million tobacco-related deaths among today’s children and adolescents.

Many films produced outside of the United States also contain smoking scenes. Surveys have shown that tobacco imagery was found in top-grossing films produced in six European countries (Germany, Iceland, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom), and two Latin American countries (Argentina and Mexico). Nine in 10 movies from Iceland and Argentina contain smoking, including films rated for young people, the report states.

The WHO Smoke-Free Movie report, in line with the guidelines of article 13 of the WHO FCTC, recommends policy measures including:

• requiring age classification ratings for films with tobacco imagery to reduce overall exposure of youth to tobacco imagery in films;
• certifying in movie credits that film producers receive nothing of value from anyone in exchange for using or displaying tobacco products in a film;
• ending display of tobacco brands in films; and
• requiring strong anti-smoking advertisements to be shown before films containing tobacco imagery in all distribution channels (cinemas, televisions, online, etc).

In addition, the report also recommends making media productions that promote smoking ineligible for public subsidies.

Dr Armando Peruga, programme manager of WHO’s Tobacco-Free Initiative, says countries around the world have taken steps to limit tobacco imagery in films. “China has ordered that ‘excessive’ smoking scenes should not be shown in films. India has implemented new rules on tobacco imagery and brand display in domestic and imported films and TV programmes. But more can and must be done,” Dr Peruga adds.