UK Health Security Agency

Monitoring influenza-like symptoms in the UK through participatory surveillance: Insights from FluSurvey over two winter seasons (2023-24 and 2024-25)

FluSurvey is a participatory surveillance system used to monitor trends in influenza and other respiratory viruses through weekly symptom surveys among the UK population. We aimed to characterise the wider impact of “influenza-like illnesses” (ILI) among FluSurvey participants an...

Human CD1c-autoreactive T-cells recognise Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected antigen-presenting cells and display cytotoxic effector programmes

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), remains the leading cause of death from infection globally yet the contribution of non-classical T-cell pathways to human immunity remains poorly defined. CD1c-autoreactive T-cells, which recognise self-lipids present...

Spike antibody Fc is associated with protection from SARS-CoV-2 challenge in macaques

A definitive correlate of protection (CoP) for SARS-CoV-2 has yet to be formally established. We previously reported that neutralising antibodies (NAbs) are the strongest candidate CoP for clinical protection against COVID-19 and that spike binding antibody is the strongest candi...

X-ray inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 for diagnostic testing workflows in pandemic response

Abstract In response to the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, this study introduces a novel application of X-ray irradiation to rapidly inactivate SARS-CoV-2 variants, enabling safe and efficient virus handling outside high-containment facilities. Unlike tr...

Impact of the HPV vaccination programme on anal HPV infection in gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men: multi-site enhanced surveillance study in specialist sexual health services in England

ABSTRACT Background A national human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme for gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) in England began in 2016. We evaluated the impact of this programme by monitoring the prevalence of type-specific HPV infections over tim...

“I didn’t even know humans could get polio … I swear that’s for dogs.” A co-produced, thematic analysis exploring adolescent attitudes to vaccines

Abstract Background Immunisation forms a cornerstone of public health policy. However, uptake rates of routine vaccines offered in adolescence are sub-optimal. In 2023/24, for example, HPV uptake in England, for example, was 72.9% of girls and 67.7% of boys in school year 8 (aged...

First draft genome sequence of the emerging sexually transmitted dermatophyte Trichophyton mentagrophytes genotype VII

Abstract Trichophyton mentagrophytes ITS-genotype VII (TMVII) is a globally emerging sexually transmitted dermatophyte causing severe skin infections characterised by painful, pustular lesions on the face, public area, genitalia, and trunk. To inform the prevention efforts, we pr...

How are local authorities responding to climate change and health impacts? a policy document analysis of four England regions

Abstract Background Climate change poses growing risks to population health. In England, local authorities can influence key determinants of climate-related health outcomes through responsibilities for housing, transport, environmental protection and public health. However, clima...