WHO to make guidelines on emerging diseases<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The World Health Organization (WHO) will issue
\nguidelines dealing with emerging diseases of the 21st century,
\nWHO representative to Indonesia Robert Kim-Farley said.<\/p>\n
Kim-Farley told journalists Thursday the guidelines are being
\ndiscussed at the organization's headquarters in Geneva and they
\nwill be announced by the end of the year.<\/p>\n
The news conference, attended by Minister of Health Sujudi and
\nDirector General of Communicable Diseases Hadi Abednego, was also
\nheld in connection with the 49th anniversary of World Health Day
\non April 7.<\/p>\n
Under the new guidelines, a network of regional existing
\nhealth centers would respond to treating "new emerging" diseases
\nincluding AIDS, Ebola and Hepatitis C which can strike anytime
\nand anywhere, Kim-Farley said.<\/p>\n
"The network system would work like the Center for Disease
\nControl (CDC) in Atlanta, U.S. and it is more cost-effective than
\nestablishing a new center," Sujudi said.<\/p>\n
Monitoring and reporting on the treatment of infectious
\ndiseases would be made on a regular basis to respond quickly to
\ncertain diseases, including the detection of AIDS cases and drug-
\nresistant strains of tuberculosis, Kim-Farley said.<\/p>\n
He added that WHO maintains surveillance data to monitor
\ndiseases that can be treated with vaccines including measles and
\npolio.<\/p>\n
Emerging diseases that have declined in the past two decades
\nbut have increased again would continue to be monitored and
\ntreated within the new networking system.<\/p>\n
The emerging diseases include malaria, dengue fever, anthrax,
\ncholera, meningitis and tuberculosis. Diseases which were once
\neradicated but begin to reappear are classified as "re-emerging".<\/p>\n
Countries are required to report routinely, with Indonesia
\nreporting on its drive to eradicate polio by the 21st century, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He called for health workers to improve polio surveillance
\ntechniques to investigate acute flaccid paralysis, which children
\ncan develop for no apparent reason by closely monitoring
\nlaboratory testing.<\/p>\n
He said that one in 100,000 among the world's population is
\nafflicted annually with a paralysis that may or may not be polio-
\nrelated.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, there is an estimated 700 cases of paralysis of
\nwhich only one-tenth is reported to the organization.<\/p>\n
Kim-Farley said the regional office located in New Delhi,
\nIndia has developed a rapid response team to investigate and
\npropose control measures for a particular disease in a country.<\/p>\n
He said it is also supporting cross-border meetings such as
\nbetween Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia to discuss infections
\naffecting their borders.<\/p>\n
He said that 17 million people die from infectious diseases
\neach year, with 41 percent of them in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
Of the infectious diseases, the WHO found smallpox to be
\neradicated worldwide since 1978, according to Sujudi. (01)<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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