International Health Regulations (2005) facilitate communication for in-flight contacts of a Middle East respiratory syndrome case, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2014

The International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) require World Health Organization Member States to notify events fulfilling two of four criteria: (1) serious public health impact; (2) unusual or unexpected event; (3) significant risk of international spread; or (4) significant risk of international travel or trade restrictions. In-flight transmission of infections like severe acute respiratory syndrome is well documented. With the enormous amount of air travel today, the risk of increasing in-flight transmission and subsequent international spread of infections are increasing. Prompt notification and information sharing under the IHR mechanism is critical for effective contact tracing and prompt control measures. We report on a case of in-flight exposure to an infection with significant public health risks that was successfully resolved using IHR (2005) guidelines.

Analysis on International Health Regulations (2005) public health emergency core capacity for health departments in China / 中国卫生政策研究

Objective:To describe the current situation of IHR ( 2005 ) public health emergency core capacity at the provincial, city, district or county level for health departments in China, discover gaps in the implementation of IHR(2005) public health emergency core capacity, and thereby provide reference for the construction of IHR(2005) public health emergency core capacity. Methods: A survey was conducted from 211 questionnaires of IHR (2005) public health emergency core capacity, which included 7 provinces, 64 cities, and 140 counties ( districts) in the health departments. Results:The indicator of IHR (2005) public health emergency core capacity is suitable for the conditions in China;there is a lack of institution building in China concerning IHR (2005) public health emergency core capacity;there is a decreasing trend at the provincial, city and county ( district) level. Conclusion:Recommen-dations were proposed to strengthen China’s institution building of IHR (2005) public health emergency core capaci-ty, focus on strengthening construction of county (district) level IHR (2005) public health emergency core capacity, strengthen the weak links of the IHR (2005) public health emergency core capacity index, strengthen China’s appli-cability research concerning IHR (2005) public health emergency core capacity.