Author: WHO

Streptococcus Causes Preventable Stillbirths & Infant Deaths

Posted on by WHO

One in five pregnant women around the world carry Group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteria which is a major, yet preventable, cause of maternal and infant ill health globally, according to a new research supplement published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. Conservative estimates reveal that out of 410 000 GBS cases every year, there will be an estimate 150 000 stillbirths and infant deaths globally.

 

To learn more, please visit the WHO website here.

GLOSS Identification Week Update

Posted on by WHO

Identification week for GLOSS ended on 04 December. In total, facilities around the globe identified more than 2 700 women with signs of infection or sepsis.  The researchers are now following up with all hospitalized women until discharge. Results will be tabulated and shared in 2018.

GLOSS in action updates:

Benin

Cameroon

Egypt

Romania

South Africa

Sri Lanka

Continue reading “GLOSS Identification Week Update”

GLOSS Research Underway

Posted on by WHO

Providers from about 500 facilities have been busy this week identifying eligible women for GLOSS, and have recruited over 2 000 women so far (still several hours more to go!). This is an extraordinary, collective effort. Want to see what the global coordination looks like on the map?

Thanks to a great campaign launched in all the facilities informing providers about the study and common identifying signs for maternal sepsis, everyone is ready to support GLOSS. Providers also helped in developing the campaign by telling us what they knew, how they felt about it, and what difficulties they faced when identifying and managing sepsis through a survey. Representatives of 47 countries completed over 1 000 surveys. The survey was available in eight languages, and 578 responded in Spanish, 272 in English, and 117 in Russian. The country with the most completed surveys was Guatemala, followed by Colombia, and then Lithuania. True champions in our awareness campaign activities!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the survey and in putting together this great campaign. The campaign aimed to raise provider awareness on maternal sepsis so that they could be in tune with identifying women with this condition.

More to come as identification week comes to a close. Continue reading “GLOSS Research Underway”

New video contributed by colleagues in Guatemala

Posted on by WHO

Our GLOSS colleagues at the Hospital Regional de Occidente (HRO) in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, have created a new video to raise awareness on maternal sepsis and share details about the upcoming Global Maternal Sepsis Study. The video features commentary from doctors William Arriaga and Guadalupe Flores of the HRO department of gynaecology and obstetrics, as well as a patient perspective from a pregnant woman surviving sepsis on the importance of studying maternal sepsis.

Note: video is available in Spanish language only.

“Sepsis en embarazo” video contributed by colleagues in Colombia

Posted on by WHO

Our GLOSS colleagues María Fernanda Escobar and Javier Carvajal, together with Adriana Messa from Fundación Valle de Lili in Cali, Colombia have created a new video to showcase STOP SEPEIS campaign information about sepsis during pregnancy. The “Sepsis en embarazo” video is being shown on TV screens in the Fundación Valle del Lili during the data preparation and collection phases of the Global Maternal Sepsis Study. It is a wonderful demonstration of the campaign in action and an invaluable resource for healthcare practitioners and patients.

 

Note: video is available in Spanish language only. Continue reading ““Sepsis en embarazo” video contributed by colleagues in Colombia”

Antibiotics: Handle with care

Posted on by WHO

This week is World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, a WHO initiative to raise awareness for a serious public health threat: antimicrobial resistance (AMR).  Antibiotics are an important tool in effectively treating infections, including maternal and neonatal sepsis. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in response to the use of these medicines. As a result, the medicines become ineffective and infections persist in the body, increasing the risk of spread to others.

 

To prevent and control the spread of antibiotic resistance, healthcare providers can:

  • Prevent infections by ensuring hands, instruments, and environment is clean.
  • Only prescribe and dispense antibiotics when they are needed, according to current guidelines.
  • Report antibiotic-resistant infections to surveillance teams.
  • Talk to patients about how to take antibiotics correctly, antibiotic resistance and the dangers of misuse.
  • Talk to patients about preventing infections (for example, vaccination, hand washing, safer sex, and covering nose and mouth when sneezing).

 

You can learn more about World Antimicrobial Awareness Week and download information and tools here. Continue reading “Antibiotics: Handle with care”