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* Public Health England Research and analysis HPR VOLUME 14 ISSUE 4: NEWS (25 AND 26 FEBRUARY) Updated 23 December 2020 CONTENTS * Coronavirus (COVID-19) information on GOV.UK: second update

* Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli infections in England and Wales in 2018 * Infection reports in this issue of HPR Print this page © Crown copyright 2020 This publication is licensed

under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the

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obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. This publication is available at

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-report-volume-14-2020/hpr-volume-14-issue-4-news-25-and-26-february CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) INFORMATION ON GOV.UK: SECOND UPDATE

An overview of the UK Government’s public health response to the coronavirus epidemic originating in Wuhan City, China, includes listings of Chief Medical Officer for England and ministerial

statements, press releases and newly published guidance. It also contains advice for travellers from affected areas and details of immigration provisions made by the UK Home Office for

individuals affected by travel restrictions associated with the epidemic. The joint Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Public Health England (PHE) Information for the Public

webpage (updated daily at 2pm) includes information on UK cases and details of the progress of contact tracing in all suspected and confirmed cases in England that has continued throughout

February 2020. As of 24 February 2020, 6,536 people had been tested in the UK; 6,527 were confirmed negative and 9 positive. These figures do not include the 4 confirmed cases, recently

arrived in the UK (from the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan). COUNTRIES AND SPECIFIED AREAS WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR RETURNING TRAVELLERS From 25 February 2020, the number of locations

and countries from which visitors to the UK, and returning UK-resident travellers, should self-isolate was significantly extended. Visitors and returning travellers to the UK from the

following areas or countries (“Category 1 countries or areas”) should immediately self-isolate, even if asymptomatic, and call NHS 111 to inform of recent travel to: * Wuhan or Hubei

province (China) * Iran * Daegu or Cheongdo (Republic of Korea) * any Italian town under containment measures Visitors and returning travellers from the following 13 areas or countries

(“Category 2 countries or areas”) do not need to undertake any special measures so long as they do not develop symptoms; if they do, they should self-isolate and call NHS 111. These

locations include: * Cambodia * China * northern Italy (other than areas specified in Category 1) * Japan * Laos * Macau * Malaysia * Myanmar * Republic of Korea (other than areas specified

in Category 1) * Singapore * Taiwan * Thailand * Vietnam SECTORAL GUIDANCE ON GOV.UK Information for UK clinicians and microbiologists is available. Guidance for primary care settings,

healthcare providers and other health professionals – including on sampling and for diagnostic laboratories – is available. Interim guidance for primary care includes principles of infection

control and actions to be taken when an unwell patient presents with a recent history of travel to an affected country; investigation and initial clinical management of possible cases;

environmental cleaning following a possible case and patient transfers. Other guidance includes information: * for all healthcare providers on infection, prevention and control – to be used

in conjunction with local policies * for healthcare providers who have staff with relevant travel, healthcare or household contact history * on self-isolation for patients undergoing testing

* for professionals advising the general public * for first responders * for ambulance trusts * for sampling and for diagnostic laboratories, including a 5-minute video on packaging

diagnostic samples containing Hazard Group 3 (HG3) pathogens Tailored advice for particular non-healthcare settings is available. The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a set of

questions and answers about effective and ineffective methods of personal protection from infection. SHIGA TOXIN-PRODUCING ESCHERICHIA COLI INFECTIONS IN ENGLAND AND WALES IN 2018 PHE’s

annual report for 2018 on Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC), published on 2 February 2020, presents surveillance data on STEC infections in 2018 in England and Wales. STEC are a

relatively rare cause of gastrointestinal infections, but are a significant public health concern due to the potential to cause severe disease. Severe bloody diarrhoea is experienced by

almost two-thirds of cases and about a third of cases are hospitalised for infection. Haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), a severe multisystem clinical condition, can occur in up to 20% of

cases, most often in children, and can be fatal. In the UK, HUS is the leading cause of renal failure in children. Historically, STEC surveillance in the UK has been limited to serogroup

O157 due to culture methods, which can only detect O157. There are more than 200 other serogroups that can cause illness (non-O157 STEC). In recent years, an increasing number of frontline

laboratories have started using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, which can detect non-O157 STEC as well. However, PCR is not used universally for detection of non-O157 STEC and the

true incidence remains unknown. The annual report presents data on both STEC O157 infections and STEC non-O157 infections in 2018. In total, 1,553 infections in England and Wales were

confirmed through the reference laboratory. The incidence of STEC O157 has continued to be reported at lower levels following a 25% decline in incidence since 2014. However, due to the

ongoing roll-out of PCR for diagnostics in frontline laboratories, detection of non-O157 infections has continued to increase, with 612 confirmed infections in 2018. This compares to 384

cases in 2017. The most commonly reported non-O157 STEC serogroup was O26, known to be associated with severe disease. Four outbreaks comprising 55 cases were investigated in 2018. INFECTION

REPORTS IN THIS ISSUE OF HPR Laboratory confirmed cases of measles, rubella and mumps (England): October to December 2019 Laboratory confirmed cases of invasive meningococcal infection

(England): October to December 2019 Routine reports of gastrointestinal infections in humans (England and Wales): December 2019 and January 2020 Reports of respiratory infections made to PHE

from PHE and NHS laboratories in England and Wales: weeks 3 to 6, 2020 Shingles vaccine coverage report (England): adults eligible from April to September 2019 and vaccinated to end of

December 2019 Pertussis vaccination programme for pregnant women update: vaccine coverage (England), October to December 2019 Back to top