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The “Spanish” influenza pandemic of 1918–1919, caused approximately 50 million deaths worldwide. Up to 500 million people were infected and some argue that the fatalities could have been up to 100 million. Epidemics and pandemics remain an ominous public health threat. If the next pandemic plays out like the 1918 pandemic, the proportion of deaths [...]
Kenya has joined several other developing countries in phasing out the traditional paperwork system in disease surveillance. The use of Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) in facilitating health surveys, patient assessment and follow up is gradually rolling out. The Coast Provincial General Hospital, which hosts one of the twenty-four Influenza Sentinel Surveillance sites in the country boasts [...]
More than three decades ago, it was believed that antibiotics, vaccines and hygiene had conquered infectious diseases. The same cannot be said today as the threat of infectious diseases has re-emerged with a vengeance. Silver bullet vaccines are being rendered useless and emergence of new agents like Ebola are worrying. Preventive interventions are slowly gaining [...]
In a globalized world, diseases can rapidly spread via international travel and trade, constituting a crisis that impacts on the livelihoods and economies of several countries. Kenya, has now designed innovative measures to respond to this challenge. Kenya’s Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation (MoPHS) through its Division of Disease Surveillance and Response (DDSR) has [...]
The successful integration of influenza surveillance activities within the routine processes of the Nakuru Provincial General Hospital (PGH) presents a best practice that can be utilised as a reference point in improving performance in other Influenza Sentinel Surveillance sites in the country. Nakuru PGH has integrated surveillance activities to routine hospital activities, a step that [...]
A rapid assessment on pandemic readiness in Sub-Saharan Africa has revealed that there is a huge gap in training of healthcare workers on continuity of care in case of emergencies. GIZ, in line with its support for pandemic readiness commissioned the assessment which revealed that none of the 15 countries in which GIZ operates in [...]
“The procurement of IT equipment by GIZ Health Sector Program through the Pandemic Preparedness Initiative will bolster the performance of not only the officers working on the PPI project but the entire Division of Disease Surveillance and Response.” These were the words of Dr David Mutonga, the head of the Division of Disease Surveillance and [...]
The need for Integrated planning and preparation for pandemics across all sectors including health & non health sectors, private & public institutions and the general community has become more apparent in recent times. Inadequate and uncoordinated preparedness among the different stakeholders will directly affect the ability of the health sector to respond during a pandemic [...]