WHO Round-up – 2 February 2013

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WHO – Global Alert and Response (GAR)
Disease Outbreak News – Most recent news items
1 February 2013
Avian influenza – situation in Cambodia – update
Excerpt
1 February 2013 – The Ministry of Health (MoH) of the Kingdom of Cambodia reported five new human cases of avian influenza that were confirmed positive for the H5N1 virus in January 2013…The cases all presented with fever, cough and other ILI symptoms. Four of the cases died, with 1 case, the 8 month old male, recovering after only experiencing mild ILI. Laboratory samples were tested by the National Institute of Public Health’s laboratory and by the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge. Preliminary evidence does not support human-to-human transmission and four of the cases are known to have had close contact with sick/dead poultry…

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WHO – Humanitarian Health Action
No new reports
http://www.who.int/hac/en/index.html

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 WHO: Global Immunization News, December 2012 includes:
News
– Djibouti celebrates Introduction of Pneumococcal vaccine in the National Immunization programme
– Growing Consensus on Strengthening National Vaccine Delivery Systems
– Timor-Leste launches introduction of new vaccine as part of intensification of routine immunization
– Review of National Immunization Programme in Tajikistan, 19-28 November 2012
– Eastern Mediterranean is the first WHO region launching Vaccine Safety E-learning course CD
– New technology for producing thermostable INFLUENZA vaccines

Meetings/Workshops
– The 2nd Hands-on Training Course to Implement Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Technique for Rapid Detection and Characterization of Polioviruses in the Western Pacific Region
– 18th Meeting of the Regional Commission for the Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradication in the Western Pacific Region
– First meeting on seasonal influenza vaccines in Western Pacific Region
– IPV recommended for countries to mitigate risks and consequences associated with OPV2 withdrawal
– Global Invasive Bacterial Vaccine Preventable Diseases Surveillance Meeting
– SOUTH EAST ASIA countries share experiences on intensification of routine immunization at GAVI Partners’ Forum
– National Polio Committees develop action plans for 2013 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
– Immunizations Systems and Technologies for Tomorrow

http://www.who.int/entity/immunization/GIN_December_2012.pdf