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How did singing and dancing pills raise awareness of antibiotic resistance? 

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Behavioural Insights, Data blog, Social marketing

In 2017, the Keep Antibiotics Working campaign targeted groups who were most likely to use antibiotics (mothers of children aged 0-16, and people aged over 50), and healthcare professionals dealing with patient care and prescribing. In this blog post, we look at a peer-reviewed study investigating the impact of the campaign.

What is whooping cough and how can I prevent my children catching it?

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Children and Young people, immunisations
Young boy lying on a sofa

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a highly contagious bacterial infection that mainly affects the lungs and airways. It can affect people of all ages and while it can be a very unpleasant illness for older vaccinated adolescents and …

Inside Britain’s Deadly Fungus Collection

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Microbiology services, Uncategorized
A micriscopic image of the fungi Cunninghamella bertholletiae

Housed near Bristol, UKHSA’s National Collection of Pathogenic Fungi (NCPF) is home to more than 4,500 isolates of potentially deadly fungi isolates, gathered over the last century.

In this blog post, we’ll cover the history of the NCPF: why it was set up, what it houses and how it continues to play an important role in protecting our health.

How bacteria-munching viruses could offer an alternative to antibiotics

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: UKHSA science
Stylised visualisation of a bacteriophage

They look like something out of nightmare, but these so-called ‘spider viruses’ occur naturally, and could be a powerful new weapon in tackling the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. Bacteriophages, or phages for short, have a remarkable and currently untapped …

Is hay fever season starting earlier in the UK, with the pollen count rising?

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Health in a changing climate

Hay fever is already common during the spring and summer months, but our changing climate could see some symptoms starting earlier in the year for allergy sufferers across the UK. Recent studies suggest that some types of pollen and other …