Médecine tropicale : revue du Corps de santé colonial
-
Yellow fever (YF) remains a public health problem in Africa. In 2007 and 2008, Togo, Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso became the first countries to implement mass YF immunization campaigns within the framework of the Yellow Fever Initiative. The goal of this initiative led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) with the support of The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) is to organize mass YF immunization campaigns in 12 African countries at high risk forYF transmission between 2006 and 2013. ⋯ Planning should begin well in advance with appropriate funding. Training should be given to raise awareness at all levels of the health system. Mechanisms should be developed for systematic and timely collection and processing of biological samples and data at national level.
-
Dengue is a tropical disease affecting 110 countries throughout the world and placing over 3 billion people at risk of infection. According the World Health Organization 70 to 500 million persons are infected every year including 2 million who develop hemorrhagic form and 20,000 who die. Children are at highest risk for death. ⋯ The purpose is to evaluate the efficacy of the tetravalent dengue vaccine in children. The study is being conducted in the Ratchaburi province in collaboration with the University of Mahidol and the Thai Ministry of Health as well as the Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative (PDVI). This efficacy trial will be an important step for successful development of a live attenuated tetravalent vaccine.
-
On June 11, 2009, Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), declared the first influenza pandemic of the 21st century. It was the first time in history that an influenza outbreak had been tracked in real-time from the emergence of a new strain of influenza A (H1N1) up to its spread to all continents over a period of 9 weeks. ⋯ Therefore, WHO is working with industrialized countries, pharmaceutical companies and the international community as a whole to promote global solidarity and cooperation and thus ensure distribution of pandemic vaccine in poor countries with no local production. The current pandemic situation highlights the increasing globalization of public health stakes with regard to influenza vaccination. The purpose of this presentation is to review the various challenges for production and distribution of vaccines and underline the progress that has been accomplished since 2005.
-
Cervical cancer and other diseases related to human papillomavirus (HPV) represent a global public health problem. Safe and effective vaccines are now available and already used in many industrialized countries. Immunization offers the best hope for protecting the population against a disease that is the second most deadly cancer in the developing world and the first most deadly in Africa. ⋯ Widespread vaccination could be beneficial in numerous domains other than primary prevention of cervical cancer. Efforts to overcome the numerous obstacles and speed up implementation of HVP vaccination programs are now underway in many areas ranging from related scientific issues such as epidemiology and clinical research to administrative concerns such as healthcare economics, vaccination guidelines, public acceptation, program funding, and universal access. Vaccine manufacturers have committed themselves to working in partnership with national and international organizations to ensure access to HPV vaccine for all countries regardless of economic level, Although numerous issues must be resolved to optimize the use of HPV vaccines and ensure synergistic integration of vaccination, screening and treatment, current initiatives and efforts should allow introduction of HPV vaccination in developing countries in a not too distant future.