PublicHealthMatters 
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 diseases is new. In this blog post, Dr Mike Reynolds, Principal Scientist within the Emerging Infections and Zoonoses team, dives into the daily work he and his colleagues do … Read more
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 world that the early days of a pandemic are crucial, with swift action required by governments, industry and academia to translate science into public … Read more
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 strategic priorities for the next 3 years is to improve health outcomes through vaccination and the work we do in our labs to … Read more
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 that’s through the discovery of early vaccines and antibiotics which saved countless lives to the way the COVID-19 pandemic revolutionised many aspects of modern health … Read more
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 STIs and doing what we can to prevent that happening. Engaging in condomless sex on holiday you run the risk of returning to … Read more
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 noise can affect health and wellbeing. The research builds on long established evidence that living in an area with higher noise levels from traffic … Read more
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 birds at 185 premises in the UK. During the same time period, H5N1 has also been detected in 1,024 wild birds across the … Read more
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 risks. We know that climate change is making these problems worse, increasing the number of adverse weather events, with these events becoming … Read more
Dr Shreya Singhal is currently practising as a junior doctor and Academic Foundation Trainee working in West London, as well as being a keen backpacker. She has worked in Infectious Diseases and General Practice and has shared her top tips for people looking to travel this summer. Lots of people will be travelling abroad this year. … Read more
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 virus on to others without knowing. The majority of cases of hepatitis B are in migrants who have acquired infection overseas in endemic countries … Read more