mteb/FeedbackQARetrieval huggingface dataset:
Q&A: HIV, antiretrovirals and COVID-19
Should pregnant and breastfeeding women living with HIV with COVID-19 and their newborns be managed differently?
There is currently no known difference between the clinical manifestations of
COVID-19 or risk of severe illness or foetal compromise for pregnant and non-
pregnant women or adults of reproductive age. Pregnant and recently pregnant
women with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 should be treated with supportive
and management therapies, considering the immunologic and physiologic
adaptations during and after pregnancy which may overlap with COVID-19
symptoms. Data are limited but, until the evidence base provides clearer
information, special consideration should be given to pregnant women with
concomitant medical illnesses who could be infected with COVID-19. There are
no reported deaths in pregnant women at time of publishing this
information[17] however, COVID-19 testing of symptomatic pregnant women may
need to be prioritized to enable access to specialized care. All recently
pregnant women with COVID-19 or who have recovered from COVID-19 should be
provided with information and counselling on safe infant feeding and
appropriate IPC measures to prevent COVID-19 virus transmission[18].
With confirmed disease or under investigation, management is similar to non-
pregnant women, with appropriate isolation of confirmed or under
investigation. Obstetric facilities must be notified and prepared, noting that
each infant born to any mother with confirmed COVID-19 should be considered a
‘person under investigation’ and should be isolated according to the IPC
guidance. Currently, it is unknown whether newborns with COVID-19 are at
increased risk for severe complications.
Q&A: HIV, antiretrovirals and COVID-19
What is the role multi-month prescriptions and dispensing for antiretrovirals and other medicines?
Clinically stable adults, children, adolescents and pregnant and breastfeeding
women as well as members of key populations (people who inject drugs, sex
workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people and people living in
prisons and closed settings) can benefit from simplified antiretroviral
therapy delivery models which include multi-month prescriptions and dispensing
(3-6 month supply) which will reduce the frequency of visits to clinical
settings and ensures continuity of treatment during possible disruption of
movements during the coronavirus outbreak. Similar consideration should be
given to providing people who are clinically stable on methadone or
buprenorphine substitution therapy with an increased possibility for take-home
medications to reduce additional burden on the health sector.
Q&A: Infection prevention and control for health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
Why does WHO recommend contact and droplet precautions and not routine use of airborne precautions for healthcare workers providing care to patients with suspected/confirmed 2019-nCoV infection?
WHO developed its rapid guidance based on the consensus of international
experts who considered the currently available evidence on the modes of
transmission of 2019-nCoV. This evidence demonstrates viral transmission by
droplets and contact with contaminated surfaces of equipment; it does not
support routine airborne transmission. Airborne transmission may happen, as
has been shown with other viral respiratory diseases, during aerosol-
generating procedures (e.g., tracheal intubation, bronchoscopy), thus WHO
recommends airborne precautions for these procedures.
Click here for more information about healthcare worker protection for
2019-nCoV.
Q&A: Infection prevention and control for health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
How long the 2019-nCoV can survive on a dry surface?
There is currently no data available on stability of 2019-nCoV on surfaces.
Data from laboratory studies on SARS-CoV and MERS-
CoV
have shown that stability in the environment depends on several factors
including relative temperature, humidity, and surface type. WHO continues to
monitor existing evidence around nCoV and will update when such evidence is
available.
Q&A: Infection prevention and control for health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
What are the recommendation regarding disinfection of vehicles, goods and products coming from China or other COVID-19 affected countries?
To date there is no epidemiological information to suggest that contact with
goods, products or vehicles shipped from COVID-19 affected countries have been
the source of COVID-19 in humans.
For these reasons, there is no disinfection recommendations for any goods and
products coming from COVID-19 affected countries given that there is no
available evidence that these products pose a risk to public health. WHO will
continue to closely monitor the evolution of COVID-19, and will update the
recommendations as needed.
Q&A: Infection prevention and control for health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
Can chlorine solutions also be used?
Chlorine solutions are strongly discouraged as they carry a higher risk of
hand irritation and ill health effects from making and diluting chlorine
solutions, including eye irritation and respiratory problems. In addition,
there is a risk of loss of antimicrobial effect if exposed to sunlight or
heat. Preparing chlorine solutions requires training to reach the correct dose
of 0.05% with varying strengths of bleach available in the private sector.
Even if stored at a cool dry place with a lid away from sunlight, they have to
be renewed daily. In comparison simple soapy water solution do not have any of
the above-mentioned health risks and complications including loss of antiviral
effect due to heat or sunlight. The antiviral effect of soapy water is due to
the oily surface membrane of the COVID-virus that is dissolved by soap,
killing the virus.
Q&A: Infection prevention and control for health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
Does WHO recommend routine wearing masks for healthy people during the 2019 nCoV outbreak?
No. WHO does not recommend that asymptomatic individuals (i.e., who do not
have respiratory symptoms) in the community should wear medical masks, as
currently there is no evidence that routine use of medical masks by healthy
individuals prevents 2019-nCoV transmission. Masks are recommended to be used
by symptomatic persons in the community. Misuse and overuse of medical masks
may cause serious issues of shortage of stocks and lack of mask availability
for those who actually need to wear them.
In health care facilities where health care workers are directly taking care
of suspect or confirmed 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease patients, masks
are an important part of containing 2019-nCoV spread between people, along
with other PPE and hand hygiene.
Click here for more information on medical mask use.
Q&A: Infection prevention and control for health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
Are there special procedures for the management of bodies of persons who have died from 2019-nCoV?
No, there are no special procedures for the management of bodies of persons
who have died from 2019-nCoV. Authorities and medical facilities should
proceed with their existing policies and regulations that guide post-mortem
management of persons who died from infectious diseases.
Q&A: Infection prevention and control for health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
Is there a model for setting up an isolation ward and types and products and health requirements?
A model for setting up an isolation ward is currently under development. PPE
specifications for healthcare workers caring for nCoV patients can be found in
the disease commodity package at: https://www.who.int/publications-
detail/disease-commodity-package---novel-coronavirus-(ncov)
Q&A: Infection prevention and control for health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
Can patients with suspected and confirmed nCoV infection be cohorted in the same room?
Ideally, suspected and confirmed 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease patients
should be isolated in single rooms. However, when this is not feasible (e.g.,
limited number of single rooms), cohorting is an acceptable option. Some
patients with suspected 2019-nCoV infection may actually have other
respiratory illnesses, hence they must be cohorted separately from patients
with confirmed 2019-nCoV infection. A minimum of 1-meter distance between beds
should be maintained at all times.
Q&A: Infection prevention and control for health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
How can you clean soiled bedding, towels and linens from patients with COVID-19?
All individuals dealing with soiled bedding, towels and clothes from patients
with COVID-19 should:

Wear appropriate personal protective equipment, which includes heavy duty gloves, mask, eye protection (face shield/goggles), long-sleeved gown, apron (if gown is not fluid resistant), boots or closed shoes before touching any soiled linen.
Never carry soiled linen against body; place soiled linen in a clearly labelled, leak-proof container (e.g. bag, bucket)
If there is any solid excrement on the linen, such as feces or vomit, scrape it off carefully with a flat, firm object and put it in the commode or designated toilet/latrine before putting linen in the designated container. If the latrine is not in the same room as the patient, place soiled excrement in covered bucket to dispose of in the toilet or latrine; 
Wash and disinfect linen: washing by machine with warm water (60-90°C) and laundry detergent is recommended for cleaning and disinfection of linens. If machine washing is not possible, linen can be soaked in hot water and soap in a large drum, using a stick to stir, avoiding splashing. If hot water not available, soak linen in 0.05% chlorine for approximately 30 minutes. Finally, rinse with clean water and let linen dry fully in the sunlight.   

Additional resources for best practices for environmental cleaning can be
found in the following two documents:
1)Infection prevention and control of epidemic-and pandemic prone acute
respiratory infections in health
care

2)Best Practices for Environmental Cleaning in Healthcare Facilities in
Resource-Limited Settings which was developed by CDC and ICAN
in collaboration with WHO
Q&A: Infection prevention and control for health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
Are boots, impermeable aprons, or coverall suits required as routine personal protective equipment (PE) for healthcare workers (HCW) caring for patients with suspected or confirmed 2019-nCoV infection?
No. Current WHO guidance for HCW caring for suspected or confirmed 2019-nCoV
acute respiratory disease patients recommends the use of contact and droplet
precautions, in addition to standard precautions which should always be used
by all HCW for all patients. In terms of PPE, contact and droplet precautions
include wearing disposable gloves to protect hands, and clean, non-sterile,
long-sleeve gown to protect clothes from contamination, medical masks to
protect nose and mouth, and eye protection (e.g., goggles, face shield),
before entering the room where suspected or confirmed 2019-nCoV acute
respiratory disease patients are admitted. Respirators (e.g. N95) are only
required for aerosol generating procedures.
Click here for more information on PPE for HCW caring for suspected or
confirmed nCoV patients.
Q&A: Infection prevention and control for health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
Is there a special procedure regarding waste produced by patients with suspected or confirmed 2019-nCoV?
No. Waste produced during the health care or home care of patients with
suspected or confirmed 2019-nCoV infection should be disposed of as infectious
waste.
Click here for more information on disposing of infectious
waste.
Click here to visit the CDC website.
Q&A: Infection prevention and control for health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
What are the disinfectants recommended for environmental cleaning in healthcare facilities or homes housing patients with suspected or confirmed 2019-nCoV infection?
Environmental cleaning in healthcare facilities or homes housing patients with
suspected or confirmed 2019-nCoV infection should use disinfectants that are
active against enveloped viruses, such as 2019-nCoV and other coronaviruses.
There are many disinfectants, including commonly used hospital disinfectants,
that are active against enveloped viruses. Currently WHO recommendations
include the use of:

70% Ethyl alcohol to disinfect reusable dedicated equipment (e.g., thermometers) between uses
Sodium hypochlorite at 0.5% (equivalent 5000ppm) for disinfection of frequently touched surfaces in homes or healthcare facilities

Click here for the guidance on clinical management of severe acute
respiratory infection when novel coronavirus (nCoV) infection is
suspected. 
Click here for the guidance on infection prevention and control during health
care when novel coronavirus (nCoV) infection is suspected. 
Click here for more information about environmental
cleaning.
Q&A: Infection prevention and control for health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
Can disposable medical face masks be sterilized and reused?
No. Disposable medical face masks are intended for a single use only. After
use they should be removed using appropriate techniques (i.e. do no touch the
front, remove by pulling the elastic ear straps or laces from behind) and
disposed of immediately in an infectious waste bin with a lid, followed by
hand hygiene.
Click here for more information on using masks in the context of the nCoV
outbreak.
Q&A: Infection prevention and control for health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
Do patients with suspected or confirmed 2019-nCoV need to be hospitalized if they have mild illness?
No. For patients who have mild illness, e.g., low-grade fever, cough, malaise,
rhinorrhoea, sore throat without any warning signs, such as shortness of
breath or difficulty in breathing, increased respiratory (i.e. sputum or
haemoptysis), gastro-intestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and/or
diarrhoea and without changes in mental status, hospitalization may not be
required unless there is concern for rapid clinical deterioration. All
patients discharged home should be instructed to return to hospital if they
develop any worsening of illness.
Click here for more information on admission criteria. 
Click here for more information on caring for mildly symptomatic 2019-nCoV
patients at home.
Q&A: Infection prevention and control for health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
What personal protective equipment (PPE) should be used by healthcare workers (HCW) performing nasopharyngeal (NP) or oropharyngeal (OP) swabs on patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19?
Health care workers collecting NP and OP swab specimens from suspected or
confirmed COVID-19 patients should be well-trained on the procedure and should
wear a clean, non-sterile, long-sleeve gown, a medical mask, eye protection
(i.e., googles or face shield), and gloves. Procedure should be conducted in a
separate/isolation room, and during NP specimen collection health care workers
should request the patients to cover their mouth with a medical mask or
tissue. Although collection of NP and OP swabs have the potential to induce
fits of coughing from the patient undergoing the procedure, there is no
currently available evidence that cough generated via NP/OP specimen
collection leads to increased risk of COVID-19 transmission via aerosols.
Q&A: Infection prevention and control for health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
Are specialized or referral hospitals required for patients with suspected or confirmed 2019-nCoV infection when hospitalization is needed?
No. Current WHO recommendations do not include a requirement for exclusive use
of specialized or referral hospitals to treat suspected or confirmed 2019-nCoV
acute respiratory disease patients. However, countries or local jurisdictions
may choose to care for patients at such hospitals if those are deemed the most
likely to be able to safely care for patients with suspected or confirmed
2019-nCoV infection or for other clinical reasons (e.g., availability of
advanced life support). Regardless, any healthcare facility treating patients
with suspected or confirmed 2019-nCoV patients should adhere to the WHO
infection prevention and control recommendations for healthcare to protect
patients, staff and visitors. Click here for the
guidance.
Q&A: Infection prevention and control for health care workers caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19
Should blood centers routinely screen blood products for COVID-19 virus?
No, although RNA fragments of SARS-CoV-2 were detected in blood of symptomatic
COVID-19 patients, this does not mean that the virus is viable/infectious. In
general, respiratory viruses are not known to be transmitted by blood
transfusion. Blood centers should have routine blood donor screening measures
in place to prevent individuals with respiratory symptoms or fever from
donating blood. As precautionary measures, blood centers might encourage self-
deferral of those with travel history to an COVID-19 affected country in the
previous 14 days, or of those who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or are
close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case.
Q&A: Influenza and COVID-19 - similarities and differences
How are COVID-19 and influenza viruses different?
The speed of transmission is an important point of difference between the two
viruses. Influenza has a shorter median incubation period (the time from
infection to appearance of symptoms) and a shorter serial interval (the time
between successive cases) than COVID-19 virus. The serial interval for
COVID-19 virus is estimated to be 5-6 days, while for influenza virus, the
serial interval is 3 days. This means that influenza can spread faster than
COVID-19.  
Further, transmission in the first 3-5 days of illness, or potentially pre-
symptomatic transmission –transmission of the virus before the appearance of
symptoms – is a major driver of transmission for influenza. In contrast, while
we are learning that there are people who can shed COVID-19 virus 24-48 hours
prior to symptom onset, at present, this does not appear to be a major driver
of transmission.  
The reproductive number – the number of secondary infections generated from
one infected individual – is understood to be between 2 and 2.5 for COVID-19
virus, higher than for influenza. However, estimates for both COVID-19 and
influenza viruses are very context and time-specific, making direct
comparisons more difficult.  
Children are important drivers of influenza virus transmission in the
community. For COVID-19 virus, initial data indicates that children are less
affected than adults and that clinical attack rates in the 0-19 age group are
low. Further preliminary data from household transmission studies in China
suggest that children are infected from adults, rather than vice versa.  
While the range of symptoms for the two viruses is similar, the fraction with
severe disease appears to be different. For COVID-19, data to date suggest
that 80% of infections are mild or asymptomatic, 15% are severe infection,
requiring oxygen and 5% are critical infections, requiring ventilation. These
fractions of severe and critical infection would be higher than what is
observed for influenza infection.  
Those most at risk for severe influenza infection are children, pregnant
women, elderly, those with underlying chronic medical conditions and those who
are immunosuppressed. For COVID-19, our current understanding is that older
age and underlying conditions increase the risk for severe infection.  
Mortality for COVID-19 appears higher than for influenza, especially seasonal
influenza. While the true mortality of COVID-19 will take some time to fully
understand, the data we have so far indicate that the crude mortality ratio
(the number of reported deaths divided by the reported cases) is between 3-4%,
the infection mortality rate (the number of reported deaths divided by the
number of infections) will be lower. For seasonal influenza, mortality is
usually well below 0.1%. However, mortality is to a large extent determined by
access to and quality of health care.
Q&A: Influenza and COVID-19 - similarities and differences
How are COVID-19 and influenza viruses similar?
Firstly, COVID-19 and influenza viruses have a similar disease presentation.
That is, they both cause respiratory disease, which presents as a wide range
of illness from asymptomatic or mild through to severe disease and death.  
Secondly, both viruses are transmitted by contact, droplets and fomites. As a
result, the same public health measures, such as hand hygiene and good
respiratory etiquette (coughing into your elbow or into a tissue and
immediately disposing of the tissue), are important actions all can take to
prevent infection.
Q&A: Influenza and COVID-19 - similarities and differences
What medical interventions are available for COVID-19 and influenza viruses?
While there are a number of therapeutics currently in clinical trials in China
and more than 20 vaccines in development for COVID-19, there are currently no
licensed vaccines or therapeutics for COVID-19. In contrast, antivirals and
vaccines available for influenza. While the influenza vaccine is not effective
against COVID-19 virus, it is highly recommended to get vaccinated each year
to prevent influenza infection.
Q&A: Malaria and COVID-19
What is WHO’s position on the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in the context of the COVID-19 response?
WHO is actively following the ongoing clinical trials that are being conducted
in response to COVID-19, including studies looking at the use of chloroquine
and its derivative, hydroxychloroquine, for treatment and/or prevention.
Currently, there is insufficient data to assess the efficacy of either of
these medicines in treating patients with COVID-19, or in preventing them from
contracting the coronavirus.
In the context of the COVID-19 response, hydroxychloroquine was one of the
potential treatment options that was being assessed as part of the Solidarity
clinical trial. However, on 25 May 2020, the WHO Director-General
announced that the Executive Group of the Solidarity Trial had put a
temporary pause on the hydroxychloroquine arm
of the trial while the safety data are reviewed. This decision follows the
publication of a recent Lancet study focusing on the effects of
hydroxychloroquine on COVID-19 patients who have been hospitalized; authors of
the study reported a higher mortality rate among patients who received the
drug. The Director-General made clear in his announcement that
hydroxychloroquine continues to be a safe drug for use in patients with
malaria and autoimmune diseases.
For public health emergencies, WHO has a systematic and transparent process
for research and development (R&D), including for clinical trials of drugs.
The WHO “R&D Blueprint” for COVID-19,
initiated on 7 January 2020, aims to fast-track the availability of effective
tests, vaccines and medicines that can be used to save lives and avert large-
scale crises. WHO has also designed a set of procedures to assess the
performance, quality and safety of medical technologies during emergency
situations.