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Pan America: Combat international health threats
New measures to halt spread of dangerous diseases
To reduce the time it takes to identify an illness or other public health threat, including chemical and radiological hazards that could have an international impact, and to mobilize a more timely and effective response, new International Health Regulations [IHR] designed to halt the spread of dangerous diseases and other threats have recently come into force.
The change reflects concerns about new kinds of international health threat and the fact that new diseases have been emerging at a rate of about one per year in the past four decades.
Previously Pan American Health Organization [PAHO] and World Health Organization [WHO] members were required to notify outbreaks of cholera, plague and yellow fever. Now they must report, verify and respond to any new event that is potentially a public health emergency of international concern.
The four main tasks that countries must undertake are include: establishing a national IHR focal point available 24–hours a day, seven–days a week, for official information exchange with the PAHO/WHO; developing a national plan for building the countries capacities in surveillance and response; and upgrading laboratory capacity to be able to identify dangerous pathogens.
These countries have two years to develop action plans and a further three years to implement them. PAHO member states are expected to be up and running well within the five–year period. The new regulations were approved by the World Health Assembly in 2005 and implemented in 2007.
For further information visit the PAHO website at: www.paho.org.
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