Arch Iran Med
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In late December 2019, a viral pneumonia known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) originated from China and spread very rapidly in the world. Since then, COVID-19 has become a global concern and health problem. ⋯ This co-infection of COVID-19 and influenza A highlights the importance of considering SARS-CoV-2 PCR assay regardless of other positive findings for other pathogens in the primary test during the epidemic.
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According to the purposes for the formation of the United Nations, sophistication of institutions like the Security Council must be evaluated based on the provision of peace and how they guarantee human rights. Therefore, in case Security Council does not follow these two mentioned factors, its function would be itself a threat to the international peace and security. This analytical research is based on collecting library theoretical data related to different field studies which investigated the effects of sanctions issued by the Security Council, the United States and the European Union on citizens' health and tried to assess both their efficiency and legitimacy. ⋯ In case enough drugs, appropriate treatment and medical equipment are not provided at the proper time, both physical and mental health might be threatened and this can cause death of a large number of people. Considering the Security Council as an institution which is expected to take into account the citizens' basic rights and not to ignore its own initial objective, the present paper was an attempt to provide explanations for the above concepts and their relationships and to analyze the findings of previous field studies. The paper concluded that sanctions issued by the Security Council and the United States are potentially functioning as threats to the international peace and so these sanctions are violating the citizens' right to health.
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As two essential human rights, as well as pillars of sustainable development, health and peace are closely interrelated. Further, health and well-being are the focus of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, while peace lies at the heart of SDG 16. This paper investigates the relationship between the three concepts of health, peace and sustainable development in the relevant literature. ⋯ Physicians and other human resources for health are the key actors in peaceful environment to attain health for all. In the absence of peace, the resilience of health system will be threatened and the hope for sustainable development may fade.
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Epidemiology can be considered as a responsible public health science the aim of which is to control health problems. One of the most important public health problems is "war". The aim of the present paper, therefore, is threefold: firstly, to determine to what extent war has been investigated from an epidemiological point of view; secondly, what the definition and scope of "war epidemiology" would be; and thirdly, if it would be possible to introduce a new branch of epidemiology entitled "peace epidemiology". ⋯ Epidemiologists need to produce more scientific evidence about the negative public health consequences of wars and also the positive public health consequences of peace. The ultimate aim of "war epidemiology" is to control war, usually by secondary and tertiary prevention activities. However, the ultimate aim of "peace epidemiology" is to reinforce peace by primary and/or primordial prevention activities.
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On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a global pandemic. Starting in December 2019 from China, the first cases were officially announced on February 19 in Qom city, Iran. As of April 3, 2020, 206 countries have reported a total of 932166 cases with 46764 deaths. Along with China, USA, Italy, Spain, and Germany, Iran has been suffering the hardest burden of COVID-19 outbreak. Worse still, countries like Iran are struggling with the double burden of political sanctions to provide lifesaving medical equipment and medicines to combat the emergency. ⋯ COVID-19 is an unfolding outbreak; hence, policy learning is crucial to formulate appropriate policies and implement them accordingly. Iran has made many efforts to defeat the outbreak, but more coherent, timely and efficient action is required, now, more than ever, to save lives and slow the spread of this pandemic.