Duncan Selbie’s Friday message – 7 February 2020

Dear everyone 2019-nCoV The novel coronavirus outbreak continues to evolve and yesterday we had our third confirmed case. On Friday last week, a Foreign Office-chartered aircraft carrying 83 British nationals arrived in the UK from Wuhan and this week a further 11 people returned. They are currently spending 14 days in supported quarantine, which is … Read more

Duncan Selbie’s Friday Message – 31 January 2020

Dear everyone 2019-nCoV The novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China continues to be a rapidly evolving situation. Yesterday the World Health Organization declared this as a global health emergency and in response, the four UK Chief Medical Officers raised the risk to the public from low to moderate. We can also confirm this morning that … Read more

Duncan Selbie’s Friday Message – 24 January 2020

Dear everyone 2019-nCoV: Wuhan The novel coronavirus outbreak in the Chinese City of Wuhan is a new and rapidly evolving situation where information on cases and the virus is being gathered and assessed daily. Based on the available evidence, the current risk to the UK is considered low with proportionate and precautionary measures being taken for flights arriving from … Read more

Wuhan novel coronavirus: what you need to know

Wuhan city,China At PHE we respond to around 10,000 disease outbreaks and health emergencies every year both at home and abroad, ranging from e-coli, legionnaires and TB through to emerging threats such as the outbreak of a novel (new) coronavirus in Wuhan, China. This is a rapidly evolving situation which we are monitoring carefully but … Read more

Duncan Selbie’s Friday Message – 17 January 2020

Dear everyone Health and wealth Evidence continues to show that income remains the greatest determinant of health outcome, with findings published this week from a 10-year study led by University College London, conducted across the UK and North America, making the point again that health and wealth are two sides of the same coin. The … Read more

Flu detectors

Influenza (flu) kills an average of 8,000 people every year, and it can be particularly serious in older adults, very young children, and people with underlying health conditions. Our ability to accurately monitor levels of influenza throughout the winter season play an integral part in informing current and future public health decisions. Public Health England … Read more

International Year of the Nurse and Midwife 2020

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, in honour of the bicentenary of the birth of the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale. Worldwide, nurses and midwives play a vital role in providing health services, and they can often be the first and only point … Read more