Health blogs from the UK Health Security Agency
Behind the Scenes at RIPL: Protecting the UK from deadly diseases
In this blog post we take a behind-the-scenes look at the Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory (RIPL), where our scientists work to safeguard public health from rare and deadly diseases....
What are the symptoms of Lassa fever and how is it spread?
Lassa virus under a microscope. Image courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention You may have seen media reports about a person who travelled to the UK who was ill with Lassa...
Andrew Donaldson-Wheatcroft: 'We should see HIV testing as an essential part of self-care'
If you are interested in skincare, beauty and wellness, you might know of influencer Andrew Donaldson-Wheatcroft, who has well over 200,000 followers on his social media accounts....
Meningitis: I underwent multiple surgeries, including the amputation of several fingers
Meningococcal group C (MenC) disease cases are down by 99% since the vaccination programme was introduced by UKHSA and NHS England in 1999, but the fight against the deadly diseases that...
Health and science: A guide to our most popular blog posts of 2024
Lots of people were interested in reading about protecting their health in 2024 – around a million people in fact. This was the number of readers who came to our blog in the...
What winter bug do I have? Know the signs and symptoms
We see cases of flu, RSV, COVID-19 and norovirus throughout the year, but in winter they circulate at the same time and can reach high levels. We also track other respiratory...
How human organs grown in labs are helping to develop the vaccines of the future
In a lab in Porton Down, scientists are growing human organs on tiny cassette-like chips to help accelerate the development of new drugs, therapeutic medicines and vaccines. These replica...
How we monitor invasive mosquitoes and stop them spreading in the UK
As we release data showing a significant rise in travel-related infections like dengue and malaria, we speak to Colin Johnston, Senior Medical Entomologist at UKHSA, about his team’s work...
What is bird flu and how are we protecting people against it in the UK?
Avian influenza (bird flu) is an infectious disease that affects birds, caused by the influenza A virus. Birds are the hosts for a variety of influenza virus subtypes, particularly...
Why is norovirus reporting in England so high at the moment?
Data for the current 2024/2025 season in England shows that norovirus laboratory reports are notably higher than the 5-season average. Norovirus cases typically increase through autumn and...
How the science of snakebites is taking on superbugs
Patients in British hospitals with serious, antibiotic-resistant gut infections have little in common with snakebite victims overseas. But when scientists made an unlikely connection in...
Join the fight against flu by taking part in our citizen science project
Our scientists are tracking flu and other respiratory viruses and they need your help. Join our FluSurvey system and contribute directly to flu surveillance this winter. This UK-wide...