Mitchell G. Weiss

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland | University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

[ 1 ] - Public Health Policy and Experience of the 2009 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic in Pune, India

Background Prior experience and the persisting threat of influenza pandemic indicate the need for global and local preparedness and public health response capacity. The pandemic of 2009 highlighted the importance of such planning and the value of prior efforts at all levels. Our review of the public health response to this pandemic in Pune, India, considers the challenges of integrating global ...

[ 2 ] - Correcting India’s Chronic Shortage of Drug Inspectors to Ensure the Production and Distribution of Safe, High-Quality Medicines

Background Good drug regulation requires an effective system for monitoring and inspection of manufacturing and sales units. In India, despite widespread agreement on this principle, ongoing shortages of drug inspectors have been identified by national committees since 1975. The growth of India’s pharmaceutical industry and its large export market makes the problem more acute.   Methods The foc...

[ 3 ] - Pharmacovigilance in India, Uganda and South Africa with Reference to WHO’s Minimum Requirements

Background Pharmacovigilance (PV) data are crucial for ensuring safety and effectiveness of medicines after drugs have been granted marketing approval. This paper describes the PV systems of India, Uganda and South Africa based on literature and Key Informant (KI) interviews and compares them with the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) minimum PV requirements for a Functional National PV Syste...