Health blogs from the UK Health Security Agency
COVID-19 testing for people arriving from China
A sample of passengers travelling from China into London’s Heathrow Airport will be invited to take a PCR test for COVID-19 on arrival. These tests will help us to better understand any...
Back to school – 5 things to do to help manage winter illness
As students start to return to school, it’s important to be aware of the winter illnesses currently circulating and the best ways to protect your child and others. In this blog, we set out...
Group A Strep – What you need to know
Group A streptococcus (GAS) is a common bacteria. Lots of us carry it in our throats and on our skin and it doesn’t always result in illness. However, GAS does cause a number of...
World AIDS Day: get tested, get treated
World AIDS Day (1 December) provides an opportunity to remember those who have died from an AIDS-related illness and show support for those living with HIV. The latest data in England The...
Changes to the COVID-19 dashboard and COVID-19 vaccination surveillance report
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...
Increasing transparency in our winter statistics
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,...
ESPAUR report 2022 – the latest findings on Antimicrobial Resistance
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...
Norovirus: What to do if you catch it and helping to stop the spread
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...
An update on avian flu
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...
The UK Public Health Rapid Support Team – A renewed commitment to tackling infectious diseases
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...
Answering questions on monkeypox vaccination
With the support of partners and the public, we have made good progress tackling monkeypox in the UK since the outbreak was first identified in May 2022. The number of new cases per day...
5 ways to protect your under 5s this winter
As this is the first winter without pandemic restrictions in two years, you and your children may be more susceptible to the usual winter bugs and viruses this year. Winter bugs and...