Health blogs from the UK Health Security Agency
A parent’s guide to keeping kids healthy this school year
As the new school year begins, children, teenagers and their parents prepare for new schedules, homework, friends, and activities. But the autumn also brings common illnesses that can keep...
How the team monitoring new and emerging infectious diseases could help prevent the next pandemic
With the COVID-19 pandemic bringing public health science into the forefront of national consciousness, you might be mistaken in thinking that pandemic preparedness and scanning for...
The importance of global surveillance to identify pandemic threats
As UKHSA’s new Strategic Plan sets out in detail, one of our most important goals is to prepare for future health security hazards, including pandemics. The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced to...
The science behind life-saving vaccines
UKHSA recently published a new Strategic Plan setting out how we will prepare for future health threats, respond to threats around us now and build health security capability. One of our 6...
UKHSA strategic plan: Addressing health threats, saving lives, protecting livelihoods
Wherever we look - locally, nationally, internationally - hazards to our health are all around us. Health threats have shaped human history, but the world has always fought back, whether...
Antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea: staying well while travelling
Lots of people engage in casual sex when travelling. While this is nothing new, it is more important than ever that while enjoying holidays and trips overseas, we are wary about catching...
Noise pollution: mapping the health impacts of transportation noise in England
Noise can have a significant impact on our health, beyond just being annoying or disturbing sleep. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has conducted a new study to better understand how...
UKHSA’s asymptomatic avian influenza surveillance programme
Since December 2021, 10 human cases of avian influenza H5N1 (of clade 2.3.4.4b) have been reported globally and between 1 October 2022 and 31 May 2023, influenza H5N1 has been confirmed in...
Come rain or shine, adverse weather matters for our health
Adverse weather matters for our health: there is a strong evidence base showing us that periods of very hot or cold weather or flooding present a wide range of direct and indirect health...
Staying well when travelling abroad this summer
Dr Shreya Singhal is currently practicing as a junior doctor and Academic Foundation Trainee working in West London, as well as being a keen backpacker. She has worked in Infectious...
Don't forget to check for hep – testing and treatment for hepatitis
Many people who have hepatitis are unaware they have the infection, because the viruses can be symptomless. This means they aren’t getting the treatments they need and are possibly passing...
The A-Z of health security science
UKHSA has published its first Science Strategy discussing how science will protect health and contribute to the nation’s prosperity over the coming years. But what do you know about the...