PublicHealthMatters 
Guest blog by Professor Kevin Fenton, London Regional Director of Public Health, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities After more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, all corners of our lives have been impacted by the virus whether it’s our health, work, education, or social lives. But we learned very early on that some … Read more
The impacts of climate change are already being seen around the world. The Earth is warming, rainfall patterns are changing, and sea levels are rising, increasing the risk of heatwaves, floods, droughts, wildfires and other natural hazards. These changes pose one of the greatest health security threats we face, potentially impacting the air we breathe, … Read more
In June last year, UKHSA’s Real-time Syndromic Surveillance system detected a potential episode of thunderstorm asthma; an increase in people reporting asthma symptoms linked to thunderstorm activity. As spring blossoms and we approach the season for these events, in this British Science Week blog we take a look at the interplay between the weather and … Read more
During British Science Week we’ve been looking at the diversity of work going on across UKHSA which serves to keep the public safe from established and emerging threats to human health. In this blog we focus on the activities of our Medical Entomology and Zoonoses Ecology (MEZE) team. That’s our scientists responsible for assessing the … Read more
The scientific capabilities and technologies at our health security laboratories, including those in our science campuses at Porton Down, Chilton and Colindale and our regional labs, are at the core of our mission to protect people from all health hazards. Our network includes reference laboratories, labs studying hazards in food, water and the environment, labs … Read more
Surveillance of COVID-19 Disease surveillance is one of UKHSA’s most essential functions. We ensure that we gather the right information at the right time – and present this information clearly and accurately to inform public health decisions in response to emerging or ongoing threats of disease. This information, which can also be called epidemiological insights, … Read more
Today marks the start of British Science Week, a celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths, and an opportunity to highlight health protection science and UKHSA’s contribution as an organisation with science at its heart. Our health protection science saves lives; both through landmark discoveries and through scientists working quietly behind the scenes to keep … Read more
The COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions it has made necessary have had a significant impact on the education, health and social development of our children and young people. Throughout the pandemic, UKHSA has worked closely with the Department for Education, Directors of Public Health and Local Authorities, delivering scientific evidence and advice on COVID-19 control … Read more
The Government has published its Living with COVID-19 plan, which announced the end of legal restrictions (such as the legal requirement to self-isolate if you have COVID-19) and the scaling down of population-wide testing. Continuing the careful path towards living safely with COVID-19 is possible because of the success of the COVID-19 vaccination and booster … Read more
I was told aged 13 that I should consider becoming a biology teacher by my school careers advisor. Biology was one of my favourite lessons and this planted the seed that I could go on to study it in higher education. I was the first in my family to go into science and knew little … Read more