Our analysis of 11 healthcare associated #MERS outbreaks in #KSA and #RepublicofKorea found that the R0 ranged from 1.3-5.7 and it took between 2-6 weeks to bring the outbreaks under control.
"Health care professionals (HCP) & hospitals currently have tools to limit the extent & impact of outbreaks, which include early identification & isolation of suspect patients & strict adherence to standard IPC measures. These are the hallmark of effective #MERS-CoV control."
"A combination of interventions including the efficient triage of patients with res-piratory symptoms at hospital entry; limiting wait times and overcrowding in waiting areas; isolation of suspected and confirmed cases; appropriate use of droplet personal protection equipment..."
"basic hand hygiene; increased protective aerosol precautions during aerosol-generating medical procedures; efficient surface & environmental decontamination of areas w/ MERS patients, & extensive contact tracing, can prevent human-to-human transmission in health care settings."
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Despite not being in the news, #COVID19 has not gone away. @WHO continues to work with all countries on surveillance, reporting & risk assessments of circulating variants (JN.1, KP.2, KP.3…) & their impact.
Yes, the impact of COVID is far less than it was in a few years ago, but we can’t become complacent: Recent vaccination coverage in at risk groups is poor, there are ⬆️ trends in hospitalisations in a number of countries, the virus continues to evolve…
… COVID does not circulate with predictable seasonality, our understanding of acute and long term effects (#LongCOVID) is still weak, there is little effort to prevent the spread. Prevention of infection remains impt even with the overall impact of #COVID19 lower than 20-22, etc
An integral component of @WHO’s overall global strategy for #influenza pandemic preparedness activities is the development of candidate vaccine viruses (CVVs) representing influenza viruses of zoonotic and pandemic risk.
Selection and development of #influenza candidate vaccine viruses (CVVs) are the first steps towards timely vaccine production, when needed…
Due to the evolving nature of influenza viruses, the genetic and antigenic characteristics of contemporary zoonotic influenza A viruses and development of CVVs for pandemic preparedness are summarized and published twice a year ().who.int/teams/global-i…
🧵Lots of interest in #H5N1 in 🇺🇸 so wanted to provide a little background on @WHO’s work in #flu (For latest in US see: @CDCgov @USDA @US_FDA)
And some info on the H5N1 flu vaccine pipeline in humans (note, we don’t need this yet, but I’m getting a lot of questions about this)
@WHO’s work in #flu spans >7 decades with the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) who.int/initiatives/gl…
GISRS is currently composed of:
152 WHO National Influenza Centers in 130 Member States
7 WHO Collaborating Centers for Influenza and
12 WHO H5 Reference Laboratories who.int/images/default…
For the last few years, @WHO and @CERN have been developing a risk assessment tool to estimate indoor airborne transmission of #SARSCoV2 to better advise on risk mitigation measures for #COVID19.🧵
Note: The risk assessment tool itself has been online for more than a year, helping our member states and partners reduce the risks of airborne transmission indoors.
Many use today as a day to mark significance in the @COVID19 pandemic.
I welcome any way in which we can raise attention to COVID-19, to remember our loved ones lost-and still losing- but also to ensure that we continue to act to tackle the current threat of COVID-19.
It was the day, 4 years ago, the Director-General of @WHO @DrTedros characterized #COVID19 as a pandemic. I remember that day vividly...because it was significant in the lives of everyone on the planet and in mine personally…
But let's accurately mark history here: it's not the day @WHO "declared" a pandemic.
For me, what is heartbreaking is that this day-arguably-marks when the world woke up to the threat of #COVID19, when that awakening should have been at least 6 weeks earlier when DG declared…
Sadly at the end of 2023, we passed the 7 million mark for the number of #COVID19 deaths reported to @WHO. 7,010,586 to be exact. The true death toll is higher, with estimates of at >3 times more deaths globally.
From Oct to Dec, #SARSCoV2 %+ from sentinel sites from @WHO expanded GISRS was 6-10% & from non-sentinel sites was 18% in Dec. Wastewater surveillance systems suggest actual cases are 2-19 times higher than what is reported to WHO.
Worryingly, #COVID19 hospitalisations & ICU admissions are up 42% & 62%, respectively…though data is only available from 29 & 21 countries (out of 234 countries/territories), respectively. We expect these trends to continue following the holidays, but we have limited visibility