scholarly journals An Uncertain Risk: The World Health Organization's Account of H1N1

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 511-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudeepa Abeysinghe
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
H1n1 Influenza ◽  
World Health ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
The World ◽  
Public Risk ◽  
Health Organization

ArgumentScientific uncertainty is fundamental to the management of contemporary global risks. In 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the start of the H1N1 Influenza Pandemic. This declaration signified the risk posed by the spread of the H1N1 virus, and in turn precipitated a range of actions by global public health actors. This article analyzes the WHO's public representation of risk and examines the centrality of scientific uncertainty in the case of H1N1. It argues that the WHO's risk narrative reflected the context of scientific uncertainty in which it was working. The WHO argued that it was attempting to remain faithful to the scientific evidence, and the uncertain nature of the threat. However, as a result, the WHO's public risk narrative was neither consistent nor socially robust, leading to the eventual contestation of the WHO's position by other global public health actors, most notably the Council of Europe. This illustrates both the significance of scientific uncertainty in the investigation of risk, and the difficulty for risk managing institutions in effectively acting in the face of this uncertainty.

OBESITY IN SARS-COV-2 INFECTION: LITERATURE REVIEW

2021 ◽  
pp. 19-23
Author(s):  
Donizete Tavares Da Silva ◽  
Priscila De Sousa Barros Lima ◽  
Renato Sampaio Mello Neto ◽  
Gustavo Magalhães Valente ◽  
Débora Dias Cabral ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome ◽  
Gastrointestinal Tract ◽  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Distress Syndrome ◽  
Circulatory System ◽  
World Health ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

In March 2020, the World Health Organization (1) declared COVID-19 as a pandemic and a threat to global public health (2). The virus mainly affects the lungs and can cause acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). In addition, coronavirus 2 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARSCOV2) also has devastating effects on other important organs, including the circulatory system, brain, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys and liver

scholarly journals Four pandemics: lessons learned, lessons lost

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
World Health ◽  
Swine Flu ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The World ◽  
Spanish Flu ◽  
Future Events ◽  
Health Organization

In the past 100 years, the world has faced four distinctly different pandemics: the Spanish flu of 1918-1919, the SARS pandemic of 2003, the H1N1 or “swine flu” pandemic of 2012, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Each public health crisis exposed specific systemic shortfalls and provided public health lessons for future events. The Spanish flu revealed a nursing shortage and led to a great appreciation of nursing as a profession. SARS showed the importance of having frontline clinicians be able to work with regulators and those producing guidelines. H1N1 raised questions about the nature of a global organization such as the World Health Organization in terms of the benefits and potential disadvantages of leading the fight against a long-term global public health threat. In the era of COVID-19, it seems apparent that we are learning about both the blessing and curse of social media.

scholarly journals Scientific Certainty in a Time of Uncertainty: Predicting Vulnerability of Canada's First Nations to Pandemic H1N1/09

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Spence ◽  
Jerry P. White
Keyword(s):  
World Health Organization ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
World Health ◽  
Director General ◽  
Pandemic H1n1 ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

On June 11, 2009, the Director General of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan, announced that the scientific evidence indicated that the criteria for an influenza pandemic had been met: pandemic H1N1/09 virus, the first in nearly 40 years, was officially upon us. The World Health Organization has estimated that as many as 2 billion or between 15 and 45 percent of the population globally will be infected by the H1N1/09 virus. Scientists and governments have been careful to walk a line between causing mass public fear and ensuring people take the risks seriously. The latest information indicates that the majority of individuals infected with the H1N1/09 virus thus far have suffered mild illness, although very severe and fatal illness have been observed in a small number of cases, even in young and healthy people (World Health Organization 2009c). There is no evidence to date that the virus has mutated to a more virulent or lethal form; however, as we enter the second wave of the pandemic, a significant number of people in countries across the world are susceptible to infection. Most importantly, certain subgroups have been categorized as high risk given the clinical evidence to date. One of these subgroups is Indigenous populations (World Health Organization 2009c).

Participation in the World Health Organization

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 261-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven A. Solomon ◽  
Claudia Nannini
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
World Health ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Collaborative Efforts

Participation in the World Health Organization (WHO) is a multifaceted matter and should be understood as not only referring to the governance of WHO, but also to its scientific and technical work as well as its collaborative efforts towards advancing global public health more generally. The article is concerned, in particular, with the legal and political framework surrounding attendance and participation of states and various entities in the governing bodies of the Organization, at the global and regional level. It shows that participation in the governance of WHO is still today a domain reserved to the determination of its Member States. At the same time, solutions have been found and continued efforts are necessary to take into account geopolitical considerations and to ensure a meaningful and inclusive participation of all relevant actors in global health discussions.

scholarly journals Global Public Health Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior for People Living With Chronic Conditions: A Call to Action

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paddy C. Dempsey ◽  
Christine M. Friedenreich ◽  
Michael F. Leitzmann ◽  
Matthew P. Buman ◽  
Estelle Lambert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
Sedentary Behavior ◽  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Premature Mortality ◽  
World Health ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

Background: In 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) released global guidelines on physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior, for the first time providing population-based recommendations for people living with selected chronic conditions. This article briefly presents the guidelines, related processes and evidence, and, importantly, considers how they may be used to support research, practice, and policy. Methods: A brief overview of the scope, agreed methods, selected chronic conditions (adults living with cancer, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and human immunodeficiency virus), and appraisal of systematic review evidence on PA/sedentary behavior is provided. Methods were consistent with World Health Organization protocols for developing guidelines. Results: Moderate to high certainty evidence (varying by chronic condition and outcome examined) supported that PA can reduce the risk of disease progression or premature mortality and improve physical function and quality of life in adults living with chronic conditions. Direct evidence on sedentary behavior was lacking; however, evidence extrapolated from adult populations was considered applicable, safe, and likely beneficial (low certainty due to indirectness). Conclusions: Clinical and public health professionals and policy makers should promote the World Health Organization 2020 global guidelines and develop and implement services and programs to increase PA and limit sedentary behavior in adults living with chronic conditions.

Zika

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 224-227
Author(s):  
Rabia Aftab
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Zika Virus ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
World Health ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Geographic Spread ◽  
The World ◽  
Public Health Threat ◽  
Health Organization

The Zika virus (ZIKV), first discovered in 1947, has emerged as a global public health threat over the last decade, with an accelerated geographic spread of the virus occurring in the last 5 years. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that millions of cases of ZIKV are likely to occur in the Americas between 2016 and 2017. These projections, in conjunction with an increase in newborn microcephaly cases that are suspected to be ZIKV-associated, prompted the WHO to declare a public health emergency of international concern in February 2016. With the current media attention, it is likely that GPs will be consulted on th topic, particularly by pregnant women.

scholarly journals WHO highlights need for collective international efforts to face emerging diseases

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (35) ◽  
Author(s):  
Collective Editorial team
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Emerging Diseases ◽  
World Health ◽  
World Health Report ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Health Security ◽  
Health Report ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

On 23 August, the World Health Organization published its latest World Health Report, subtitled ‘A Safer Future: Global Public Health Security in the 21st Century’.

scholarly journals Modern medical and organizational features of coronavirus infection

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 5-12
Author(s):  
Vasily I. Orel ◽  
Natalya A. Gureva ◽  
Olga M. Nosireva ◽  
Viktoriya I. Smirnovа ◽  
Tatiana I. Buldakova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
H1n1 Influenza ◽  
World Health ◽  
Swine Flu ◽  
Director General ◽  
The World ◽  
Coronavirus Infection ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
The City ◽  
Epidemiological Situation

So far in the history of mankind, the pandemic has been declared only twice. The first was the H1N1 influenza pandemic of 1918-1920, known as the Spanish flu or Spanish. The second is the 2009-2010 H1N1 flu pandemic, referred to in the media as swine flu. At the end of 2019, there was an outbreak of a new coronavirus infection COVID-19 with an epicenter in the peoples Republic of China (PRC) in the city of Wuhan (Hubei province), and since the beginning of 2020, cases of a new coronavirus infection have been recorded in other countries whose citizens visited the PRC. In some territories, such as South Korea, Iran and Italy, the epidemiological situation for COVID-19 has sharply worsened, which subsequently led to a significant increase in the number of cases in the world associated with travel to these countries. In connection with the current epidemiological situation, on March 11, 2020, the Director-General of the world health organization (who), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said at a briefing in Geneva that the spread of the new coronavirus in the world has become a pandemic. According to experts, the new coronavirus infection has a number of features, both epidemiological and clinical. Currently, information about this is quite limited, which makes it difficult to prevent and treat this disease. In our article, we tried to present some aspects of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19, referring to data published in open scientific literature sources, and reporting data from two administrative districts of the city of St. Petersburg.

scholarly journals PROPERTIES AND PATHOGENESIS OF CORONAVIRUSES

Kosmos ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-285
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Kwiatek
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
Actual State ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Highly Pathogenic ◽  
Enveloped Viruses ◽  
Zoonotic Viruses ◽  
The World ◽  
Positive Sense ◽  
Health Organization

In 2019, a new human pandemic coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged in Wuhan, China. We present the actual state of knowledge on Betacoronaviruses, including data on SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. Betacoronaviruses are enveloped viruses with nonsegmented, positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome. SARS-CoV, MERSCoV, and SARS-CoV-2 are highly pathogenic zoonotic viruses. SARS-CoV-2 is an etiological factor of COVID-19, which has been brought to global attention and declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in 2020. The SARS-CoV-2 is similar to other coronaviruses, nevertheless some differences were observed. As no specific therapeutics and vaccines are available for disease control, the epidemic of COVID-19 is posing a great threat for the global public health.

scholarly journals Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): The need for a multidimensional approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-108
Author(s):  
Manuel E. Cortés ◽  
Andrea A. Alfaro Silva
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
Multidisciplinary Approach ◽  
World Health ◽  
Multidimensional Approach ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

Coronavirus disease - 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the SARS-CoV-2, is currently a major concern worldwide1. COVID-19 has produced millions of infections worldwide, also causing hundreds of thousands of deaths1, a fact that has led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare COVID-19 as a pandemic2. This Letter aims to discuss the main characteristics of COVID-19 and to raise the need for a multidimensional and multidisciplinary approach to deal with this type of threat to global public health.

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