Suchergebnisse

Η παρούσα εργασία προσπαθεί να ρίξει φως σε συγκεκριμένα ερωτήματα και λανθασμένες πεποιθήσεις, σχετικές με την εποχική, την πανδημική και τη γρίπη των πτηνών, εστιάζοντας κυρίως σε θέματα που αφορούν στην πανδημική γρίπη. Ανάμεσα στην εποχική γρίπη, την πανδημική και αυτή των πτηνών υπάρχουν σημαντικές ομοιότητες, αλλά και διαφορές. Ιστορικά, στοιχεία από παλαιότερες πανδημίες συνεισέφεραν τόσο στην αξιολόγηση του κοινωνικού, οικονομικού και πολιτικού αντίκτυπου όσο και στην προετοιμασία για μία μελλοντική πανδημία στον άνθρωπο. Τα στελέχη που κυκλοφορούν τώρα, όπως αυτό της γρίπης των πτηνών Η5Ν1, απαρτίζουν κίνδυνο για τη δημόσια υγεία για μία μελλοντική πανδημία. Λαμβάνοντας υπόψη την κλινική εικόνα,φαίνεται ότι σε περίπτωση που το νόσημα προκαλέσει πανδημία, ο βαθμός θνησιμότητας θα είναι υψηλός, ιδιαίτερα σε ευπαθείς πληθυσμούς. Επιπλέον, φαίνεται ότι η ανάγκη για διαγνωστικό έλεγχο επιβεβαίωσης θα ελαττώνεται, καθώς η πανδημία θα βρίσκεται σε εξέλιξη, ενώ ένας αντιϊκός παράγοντας δεν θα είναι αρκετός. Παράλληλα, στην επιστημονική κοινότητα δεν υπάρχει ομοφωνία σχετικά με την επιτυχία ενός Η5Ν1 εμβολίου πριν την πανδημία. Έτοιμα προγράμματα σε περίπτωση πανδημίας, τα οποία θα επιληφθούν λεπτών θεμάτων όπως είναι τα αντιϊκά φάρμακα, οι εμβολιασμοί πριν την εμφάνιση μιας πανδημίας και τα μη φαρμακευτικά μέτρα, είναι απαραίτητο να σχεδιαστούν και να ελεγχθούν στην πράξη, ώστε να διαπιστωθούν τα ενδεχόμενα προβλήματα εφαρμογής τους. ; This paper attempts to shed light in certain questions and false beliefs about seasonal, avian and pandemic influenza, mainly focusing on issues surrounding pandemic influenza. Important similarities and differences exist between seasonal, avian and pandemic influenza. Historical lessons from old pandemics help in recognizing their significant social, economical and political impact and guide the current preparedness for a future human pandemic. Currendy circulating strains, such as the avian influenza H5N1 strain constitute a danger to public health and have significant pandemic potential. Regarding clinical characteristics it appears that disease associated with a pandemic will have a high case fatality rate especially in vulnerable populations. Furthermore, the need for confirmatory diagnostic testing will likely diminish as a pandemic progresses. With regards to management stockpiling one antiviral agent will probably not be enough. No uniform scientific conclusion about the success of a prepandemic H5N1 vaccine has been reached yet. Complete pandemic plans that address subtle issues surrounding stockpiling antivirals and prepandemic vaccines as well as non-pharmaceutical measures need to be ready and to be tested in practice in order to identify problems with implementation and gaps in preparedness.

The 2015-2017 global migratory crisis saw unprecedented numbers of people on the move and tremendous diversity in terms of age, gender and medical requirements. This article focuses on key emerging public health issues around migrant populations and their interactions with host populations. Basic needs and rights of migrants and refugees are not always respected in regard to article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 23 of the Refugee Convention. These are populations with varying degrees of vulnerability and needs in terms of protection, security, rights, and access to healthcare. Their health status, initially conditioned by the situation at the point of origin, is often jeopardised by adverse conditions along migratory paths and in intermediate and final destination countries. Due to their condition, forcibly displaced migrants and refugees face a triple burden of non-communicable diseases, infectious diseases, and mental health issues. There are specific challenges regarding chronic infectious and neglected tropical diseases, for which awareness in host countries is imperative. Health risks in terms of susceptibility to, and dissemination of, infectious diseases are not unidirectional. The response, including the humanitarian effort, whose aim is to guarantee access to basic needs (food, water and sanitation, healthcare), is gripped with numerous challenges. Evaluation of current policy shows insufficiency regarding the provision of basic needs to migrant populations, even in the countries that do the most. Governments around the world need to rise to the occasion and adopt policies that guarantee universal health coverage, for migrants and refugees, as well as host populations, in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. An expert consultation was carried out in the form of a pre-conference workshop during the 4th International Conference on Prevention and Infection Control (ICPIC) in Geneva, Switzerland, on 20 June 2017, the United Nations World Refugee Day.

In the summer of 2021, European governments removed most NPIs after experiencing prolonged second and third waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most countries failed to achieve immunization rates high enough to avoid resurgence of the virus. Public health strategies for autumn and winter 2021 have ranged from countries aiming at low incidence by re-introducing NPIs to accepting high incidence levels. However, such high incidence strategies almost certainly lead to the very consequences that they seek to avoid: restrictions that harm people and economies. At high incidence, the important pandemic containment measure 'test-trace-isolate-support' becomes inefficient. At that point, the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and its numerous harmful consequences can likely only be controlled through restrictions. We argue that all European countries need to pursue a low incidence strategy in a coordinated manner. Such an endeavour can only be successful if it is built on open communication and trust.