Infection Control For Viral Haemorrhagic Fevers In The African Health Care Setting

First published in March 2014 under the title "Clinical management of patients with viral haemorrhagic fever: a pocket guide for front-line health workers: interim emergency guidance for West Africa".

Ebola Prevention and Control is a crucial guide to managing, preventing and controlling Ebola and other viral haemorrhagic fevers, especially in resource-limited settings. Chapters cover: - Virology and epidemiology - Patient management - Protection of healthcare workers - Support services and documentation - Communication and community engagement Ebola Prevention and Control is suited to healthcare workers, managers and administrators tasked with preventing, controlling and managing outbreaks of viral haemorrhagic diseases.

"Viral haemorrhagic fever (VHF) is a general term for a severe illness, sometimes associated with bleeding, that may be caused by a number of viruses. The term is usually applied to disease caused by: 1. Arenaviridae (Lassa, Lujo, Junin,Guanarito,Sabia and Machupo); 2. Bunyaviridae (Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever - CCHF); 3. Filoviridae (Ebola and Marburg); 4. Flaviviridae (Omsk haemorrhagic fever, Kyasanur forest disease and Alkurma haemorhagic fever). This Guide is focused on specific VHFs--Ebola, Marburg, CCHF, Lassa fever [and Lujo]--that occur in Africa and have risk of person to person transmission. This Guide does not address the management of other viral infections, such as dengue, Rift Valley Fever and yellow fever, that also have haemorrhagic manifestations, but do not have direct person-to-person transmission. Purpose: The purpose of this pocketbook is to provide clear guidance on current best management practices for VHF across health-care facilities."--Page 1.

Now in paperback, the second edition of the Oxford Textbook of Critical Care is a comprehensive multi-disciplinary text covering all aspects of adult intensive care management. Uniquely this text takes a problem-orientated approach providing a key resource for daily clinical issues in the intensive care unit. The text is organized into short topics allowing readers to rapidly access authoritative information on specific clinical problems. Each topic refers to basic physiological principles and provides up-to-date treatment advice supported by references to the most vital literature. Where international differences exist in clinical practice, authors cover alternative views. Key messages summarise each topic in order to aid quick review and decision making. Edited and written by an international group of recognized experts from many disciplines, the second edition of the Oxford Textbook of Critical Careprovides an up-to-date reference that is relevant for intensive care units and emergency departments globally. This volume is the definitive text for all health care providers, including physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and other allied health professionals who take care of critically ill patients.

The most recent Ebola epidemic that began in late 2013 alerted the entire world to the gaps in infectious disease emergency preparedness and response. The regional outbreak that progressed to a significant public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) in a matter of months killed 11,310 and infected more than 28,616. While this outbreak bears some unique distinctions to past outbreaks, many characteristics remain the same and contributed to tragic loss of human life and unnecessary expenditure of capital: insufficient knowledge of the disease, its reservoirs, and its transmission; delayed prevention efforts and treatment; poor control of the disease in hospital settings; and inadequate community and international responses. Recognizing the opportunity to learn from the countless lessons of this epidemic, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop in March 2015 to discuss the challenges to successful outbreak responses at the scientific, clinical, and global health levels. Workshop participants explored the epidemic from multiple perspectives, identified important questions about Ebola that remained unanswered, and sought to apply this understanding to the broad challenges posed by Ebola and other emerging pathogens, to prevent the international community from being taken by surprise once again in the face of these threats. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Edited by a clinical psychologist who has been on the ground helping to develop psychosocial support for Ebola survivors in one of the hardest-hit regions of West Africa, this book explains the devastating emotional aspects of the epidemic and its impact on survivors and the population in West Africa, families in the diaspora, and people in the United States and other countries. It also describes lessons learned from past epidemics like HIV/AIDS and SARS, and valuable approaches to healing from future epidemics. While the devastating Ebola epidemic has been contained, the effects of this outbreak—referred to by the World Health Organization as "the most severe acute public health emergency seen in modern times"—have wreaked a tremendous emotional toll on the populations of West Africa as well as on families and survivors worldwide. This groundbreaking book covers the psychosocial needs, programs, and policies related to the Ebola epidemic and examines broader lessons of the outbreak, such as changes in the ways in which healing from future epidemics can be handled. Edited by Judy Kuriansky, PhD, a noted clinical psychologist and United Nations NGO representative with extensive experience helping after disasters worldwide, and direct experience gained from being "on the ground" in West Africa in the midst of the epidemic, this book identifies and explains universal psychological factors at play in all such crises. It debunks myths regarding Ebola and describes the resulting psychological and social harm caused by the epidemic. The chapters cover overarching emotional issues and problems as well as the long-term impact on at-risk groups, such as children, women, and health workers; the impact of emotional issues on social and economic life; responses of government officials, media, and various aid organizations; and solutions being offered by groups worldwide, including service and humanitarian organizations, politicians, policymakers, and public health education groups.

Viral hemorrhagic fevers have captured the imagination of the public and made their way into popular books and movies by virtue of their extreme virulence and mysterious origins. Since 2001, concerns have grown about the potential use of many hemorrhagic fever viruses as biological weapons. This has led to a resurgence in research to develop improv