Suffolk patient with anthrax takes total in England to five cases
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) is aware that a person who injected heroin has been diagnosed with anthrax infection in Suffolk and has died. (Source: Health Protection Agency)
Source: Health Protection Agency - March 8, 2013 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
HPA issues guidance for pet rodent owners following recent cases of hantavirus
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has issued new guidance for owners of pet rodents following two recent UK cases of hantavirus which are described in a paper published in this week’s Eurosurveillance. (Source: Health Protection Agency)
Source: Health Protection Agency - March 1, 2013 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
Cases of whooping cough continue to decrease: 1 March 2013
Figures published by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) today show that confirmed cases of whooping cough in England and Wales have continued to decrease with 668 cases reported in January 2013, compared to 835 cases in December 2012. (Source: Health Protection Agency)
Source: Health Protection Agency - March 1, 2013 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
HPA: Cases of whooping cough continue to decrease
Source: Health Protection Agency (HPA)
Area: News
Current figures published by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) show that confirmed cases of whooping cough in England and Wales have continued to decrease with 668 cases reported in January 2013, compared to 835 cases in December 2012. Although this will be the third month in a row that cases have decreased, the overall numbers remain unusually high following a sustained outbreak during 2012 which saw a record 9,741 cases (provisional number). The press release also notes that large numbers of cases continue to be reported in those aged 15 years and older with 579 cases r...
Source: NeLM - News - March 1, 2013 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news
Why you shouldn't get sick in a cold snap - it takes ambulances longer to respond
Ambulance response time was 1.3 per cent slower for every degree dropped in temperature, according to the Health Protection Agency study. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - February 27, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Swine flu jab narcolepsy risk is very small
Conclusion
This study confirms that the Pandemrix vaccine against swine flu is associated with a very small risk of narcolepsy in children and young people.
As the authors point out, this risk may have been overestimated if children with narcolepsy who had been vaccinated were more rapidly referred than others because of increased awareness of the link.
The methods used were practical for a rapid assessment of risk, but as this was essentially a case series analysis they are limited by a number of factors:
The rates calculated are dependent on the accurate diagnosis and identification of the cases of narcolepsy. By us...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 27, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medication Medical practice Swine flu Source Type: news
Cases of 'untreatable gonorrhoea' soar by 25 per cent
The disease is becoming more resistant to treatment, the Health Protection Agency has warned, with 20,000 cases diagnosed in 2011. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - February 27, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Action plan launched to combat untreatable gonorrhoea in UK
The UK's Health Protection Agency (HPA) has launched an action plan to combat the threat of "untreatable" gonorrhoea. (Source: Pharmaceutical Technology)
Source: Pharmaceutical Technology - February 27, 2013 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: news
New action plan launched to combat emerging threat of untreatable gonorrhoea in England and Wales
The first Gonorrhoea Resistance Action Plan for England and Wales is published today, recommending a heightened national response to combat this serious threat. The Action Plan was developed by the Gonococcal Resistance to Antimicrobials Surveillance Programme (GRASP), established by the Health Protection Agency (HPA) to monitor the growing global problem of emerging resistance over the last decade in the absence of new therapeutic options. (Source: Health Protection Agency)
Source: Health Protection Agency - February 26, 2013 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
Pandemic flu vaccination linked to narcolepsy in UK children
Health Protection Agency (HPA) scientists have found evidence of an association between Pandemrix flu vaccination and narcolepsy in children in England, according to the findings of a study published in the British Medical Journal. These findings are consistent with previous studies from Finland and Sweden which identified a similar association. (Source: Health Protection Agency)
Source: Health Protection Agency - February 26, 2013 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
Flu cases DOUBLE in two weeks, as this year's death toll rises to 57
New figures from the Health Protection Agency show that the number of people seeing their GP with flu-like symptoms has risen dramatically over the last fortnight. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - February 22, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Hunt for plane passengers who flew with first UK victim of Sars-like virus
The Health Protection Agency has confirmed that passengers who sat in the same row or two rows in front or behind the man on the flight back from Saudi Arabia are being traced. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - February 21, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Update on family cluster of novel coronavirus infection in the UK
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) continues its investigations into a family cluster of novel coronavirus infections in the UK. Three members of the same family have all tested positive for novel coronavirus. Two of these had no history of recent travel suggesting that transmission has occurred in the UK. (Source: Health Protection Agency)
Source: Health Protection Agency - February 19, 2013 Category: UK Health Source Type: news
Third case of new respiratory infection confirmed in UK
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has confirmed there has been a third case of novel coronavirus infection. (Source: Nursing Times Breaking News)
Source: Nursing Times Breaking News - February 19, 2013 Category: Nursing Source Type: news
New research explores driving forces behind HIV epidemic in men who have sex with men in the UK
Source: Health Protection Agency
Area: News
A study conducted by the Health Protection Agency has shown that new HIV infections rose in men who have sex with men (MSM) between 1990 and 2010 in the UK, driven by a 26% increase in the proportion having condomless sex. However, the findings also suggest the increase in new infections would have been 68% greater without the introduction of antiretrovirals (ART) in the same period, and 400% greater if MSM condom use had ceased entirely from 2000 onwards.
Please see links below for the original study, as well as the HPA announcement and NHS Choices assessment. (Source: NeLM - News)
Source: NeLM - News - February 19, 2013 Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: news
