Public Health Emergency of International Concern

A Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) is a formal declaration by the World Health Organization (WHO) promulgated by that body's Emergency Committee operating under International Health Regulations (IHR) of a public health crisis of potentially global reach. As a legally binding international instrument on disease prevention, surveillance, control, and response adopted by 194 countries,[1] a PHEIC was first issued in April 2009 when the H1N1 (or Swine Flu) pandemic was still in Phase Three;[2][3] the second PHEIC was issued in May 2014 with the resurgence of polio after its near-eradication, deemed "an extraordinary event."[4][5] PHEIC can also make the news when it is not invoked, as is the case to date with MERS.[6][7]

On Friday, August 8, 2014, the World Health Organization declared its third Public Health Emergency of International Concern in response to the outbreak of Ebola in Western Africa.

References

  1. ↑ Renee Dopplick (29 April 2009). "Inside Justice | Swine Flu: Legal Obligations and Consequences When the World Health Organization Declares a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern"". Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  2. ↑ Margaret Chan (25 April 2009). "WHO | Swine influenza". World Health Organization. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  3. ↑ "WHO | Swine flu illness in the United States and Mexico - update 2". World Health Organization. 26 April 2009. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  4. ↑ "WHO | WHO statement on the meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee concerning the international spread of wild poliovirus". World Health Organization. 5 May 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  5. ↑ Debora MacKenzie (5 May 2014). "Global emergency declared as polio cases surge - health - 05 May 2014 - New Scientist". NewScientist. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  6. ↑ Robert Herriman (17 July 2013). "MERS does not constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC): Emergency committee - The Global Dispatch". The Global Dispatch. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  7. ↑ David R Curry (20 July 2013). "WHO Statement: Second Meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee concerning MERS-CoV – PHEIC Conditions Not Met | global vaccine ethics and policy". Center for Vaccine Ethics and Policy. Retrieved 2014-06-06.