UK Health Security Agency

👻 Halloween fact: the scariest blood-suckers aren't in costume. 🧛 Ticks can stay active all year long, lurking and looking for a bite. Don't let these tiny terrors sneak up on you - they can carry serious infections like Lyme disease.🕸️🩸

If you're experiencing frequent UTIs during or after menopause, vaginal oestrogen may help reduce them and ease other symptoms like dryness and irritation. 💧✨ #WorldMenopauseDay

UK mosquitoes can be annoying, but did you realise that they used to carry a form of malaria? 🦟 Human malaria was eliminated here in the early 20th century through a combination of land drainage and mosquito control. 🧪

We're testing and monitoring wastewater to identify a range of pathogens, and will be sharing more data in the coming year.📈 🧪 Find out more in our new blog post: https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2026/09/23/sewage-detectives-how-ukhsa-is-using-wastewater-to-track-common-viruses-and-emerging-threats/

Sharaine works at Porton Down, in what is sometimes called our 'top secret lab'. 🔬 🧪 Go behind the scenes and find out about her work on phages - a possible alternative treatment for antibiotics. 🧫

Ella was so ill with meningitis that she had to go to hospital in the back of a doctor's car instead of waiting for an ambulance, but initially nobody recognised her symptoms. What to watch out for: https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2025/10/31/what-is-meningitis-symptoms-risks-and-how-to-protect-yourself/

Although you're unlikely to remember having smallpox the disease, your parents or grandparents might recall being vaccinated against it. Thanks to vaccination programmes, smallpox was declared eradicated across the globe by the @who.int in 1980.

The polio vaccine, once given on a sugar cube in the UK, has helped protect millions from a life changing disease. Thanks to the NHS vaccination programme, polio is now extremely rare in the UK. Vaccination works. ✅

⚠️ An amber Heat-Health Alert has been issued for East Midlands, East of England, South East of England, & London. A yellow Heat-Health Alert is in place for all other regions of England apart from the North East. Alerts are in place from 9am Monday 3 to 9am Wednesday 5 August.

Travelling to Mexico this summer? We've seen a sharp rise in cyclospora infections linked to the destination. The tiny parasite is picked up through contaminated food, even at high-end all-inclusive resorts and causes explosive diarrhoea. Find out more on our news story: https://bit.ly/4wyuIn9

🆕 New UKHSA data show an increase in babies being protected earlier against MenB. Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/esKNb-2x

🔴⚠️ A Red Heat-Health Alert has been issued across the Midlands and southern England until 25 June. This is the highest level of alert and indicates a risk to everyone's health, not just vulnerable groups. Northern England is under an Amber alert. 🔗 ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk

Vaccines have been saving lives for over 200 years - but did you know the very first vaccine was developed in the UK?✨ In the 1790s, Edward Jenner used the relatively mild cowpox virus to build immunity against deadly smallpox, laying the foundation for modern vaccination.

🟠⚠ Amber heat-health alerts have been issued to the health systems across central England until 27 May, with yellow alerts covering the rest of the country. You can check the latest alerts and guidance through the early warning system here: 🔗 ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/weather-health-alerts

If you are travelling to Saudi Arabia for Hajj, check the latest advice on the Travel Health Pro website in advance 🕋 🔗 https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/factsheet/19/hajj-and-umrah

🌿🦠 Our first One Health surveillance report of vector-borne diseases (VBD) in England shows: 📊 Lyme disease remains the most common VBD 🦟 Emerging mosquito threats are increasing across Europe While risk to the public remains low, taking precautions matters Read full report https://bit.ly/3Py2hFy

🚨🧪 Our UK Public Health Rapid Support Team has deployed a fully functioning mobile laboratory to one of the world’s most remote locations to support the hantavirus outbreak response. Read our blog post for the full story 🔗 https://bit.ly/4wxnlwo

We are currently working with partners to manage a small cluster of meningitis cases in the Reading area. Meningitis is a serious illness - knowing the symptoms can save lives: https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2025/10/31/what-is-meningitis-symptoms-risks-and-how-to-protect-yourself/

We have a dedicated blog post with information on the hantavirus outbreak linked to the Dutch cruise ship, which we are regularly updating. 🔗Full details here: https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2026/05/12/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-hantavirus-outbreak-linked-to-the-dutch-cruise-ship/ 🧪

We are regularly updating our blog post on the hantavirus outbreak. Read it here: https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2026/05/05/what-is-hantavirus-how-is-it-transmitted-and-what-are-the-symptoms/

We are working closely with international partners to respond to the outbreak of hantavirus linked to the MV Hondius cruise ship. The latest information is in our news story: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ukhsa-update-on-the-hantavirus-cruise-ship-outbreak

Later in the year, we’ll be kicking off our conference in Manchester, bringing together the health security community for 2 days of cutting‑edge science. 🧪🐝 📅 Tuesday 22 and Wednesday 23 September 2026 🌐 Find more info: 🔗 https://www.conference.ukhsa.gov.uk/

Malaria is a serious illness spread by mosquitoes – and you can catch it from a single bite.🦟 Malaria is common in many tropical parts of the world, so it's worth visiting TravelHealthPro to check country‑specific advice before you go: https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/ #WorldMalariaDay

📰 The UK's largest ever real-world study into RSV vaccination has confirmed that babies born to vaccinated mothers are up to 85% less likely to end up in hospital with an RSV chest infection. Thanks to all the NHS health professionals who deliver this vital programme 👏

Last week, UKHSA’s WHO Collaborating Centre for Diphtheria co-hosted an international symposium with colleagues from the Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority (LGL). Global experts came together to share the latest science on diphtheria - from diagnostics & immunity to vaccines & genomics.🧪

You have just over one week left to submit your abstract for UKHSA Conference 2026. 🔍📄 Find full details, including abstract guidance and submission instructions, on our conference website. www.conference.ukhsa.gov.uk