Nov 29, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic led to enormous public interest in statistics, with sudden and urgent need to track the virus almost in real time. Whilst this was a big challenge for our statisticians, it led to real innovation in the way we manage and present data and...
Nov 21, 2022
The winter is a busy time for those working in public health and the health services. This coming winter, there is potential for respiratory or infectious diseases such as COVID-19, flu, RSV and norovirus (the “winter vomiting bug”) to coincide. We can also anticipate...
Nov 21, 2022
Antimicrobial drugs are commonly used. We have all heard of antibiotics, which fight bacteria, but there are also antifungals, antivirals and antiparasitics that fight fungi, viruses and parasites, respectively. The more we use these drugs, the less effective they...
Nov 17, 2022
Norovirus, commonly known as the winter vomiting bug, is a stomach bug that causes sickness and diarrhoea. Following lower levels than normal throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have started to see an increase in norovirus activity as we head into the winter period....
Nov 17, 2022
The current situation A record number of cases of avian influenza virus infections, or ‘bird flu’ , were confirmed across England, Scotland, and Wales in wild and captive birds last winter (2021/22). Normally, detections of bird flu decrease during the spring and...
Nov 4, 2022
The UK-Public Health Rapid Support Team is a key international partner in infectious disease outbreak detection, prevention, preparedness and response; operational research; and capacity strengthening. The team partners with low- and-middle income countries to support...