The report on quarterly epidemiological data for Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), Escherichia coli bacteraemia (ECB), Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) and surgical site infection (SSI) in Scotland, January to March (Q1) 2020, was published by Health Protection Scotland (HPS) on 7 July 2020, under the mandatory programmes for surveillance of CDI, ECB, SAB, and SSI in Scotland. Please note that data for SSI are not included due to the pausing of surveillance to support the COVID-19 response.

The report provides data for the first quarter of 2020 in 14 NHS boards and one NHS special health board. In addition, an appendix can also be accessed which details all cases and denominator data for each NHS board and overall for Scotland.

Following the global spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, many countries implemented strict entry restrictions and, in some cases, closed their borders to non-residents. These measures had a significant impact on international travel and on 17 March 2020, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) advised British nationals against all but essential international travel.

As the initial peak of the pandemic has passed in some countries, resumption of international travel is being considered, however the risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes the illness COVID-19, remains in many countries, as well as potential exposure when transiting through countries. The fitfortravel (for the general public) and the TRAVAX (for health professionals) country pages will be updated over the coming days to include a COVID-19 country specific risk-rating, with every country being identified as high, moderate or low risk and each rating accompanied with appropriate travel advice. This information will be listed in the ‘Alerts’ section on each country page of fitfortravel and the 'Emerging Health Risks' section of every TRAVAX country page. The risk-rating is based on a robust public health assessment of the COVID-19 risks for travellers to each country, and will be regularly reviewed. However, as the global spread of COVID-19 can change at any time, travellers are advised to consider the advice below before planning international travel.

Advice for travellers

Before planning and/or booking international travel, please check:

• the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) website for country specific Travel Advisory Notices regarding travel and entry restrictions, and review the local medical care available at your destination 
• the COVID-19 risk-rating at your destination, which will be listed in the ‘Alerts’ section of all fitfortravel country pages and the ‘Emerging Health Risks’ section of all TRAVAX country pages
• the TRAVAX travel insurance page, as such insurance should be considered essential 
• the UK Border Control website, in order to check current rules regarding self-isolation (quarantine) before your planned return to the UK 
• physical distancing and hygiene measures in the country you are visiting

Further information, including measures to take before, during and after travel to reduce your risk of exposure, is available for the general public on the fitfortravel COVID-19 health considerations for travel page. 

Information relating to travel and COVID-19 is available on the TRAVAX (for healthcare practitioners) and fitfortravel (for the general public) websites.

Information on COVID-19 for the general public is available on the NHS Inform (Scotland) and the NHS.UK (rest of the UK) websites.

Information and resources on COVID-19 for health professionals is available on the Health Protection Scotland (HPS) (Scotland) and Public Health England (PHE) (rest of the UK) websites. 

Source: TRAVAX, 2 July 2020

A report by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has found that, between 16 February and 15 May 2020, 290 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5) virus outbreaks were reported in Europe in poultry (287), captive birds (two) and wild birds (one). The cases were recorded in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Poland, with two low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) A(H7N1) virus outbreaks being reported in poultry in Italy.

Source: ECDC, 30 June 2020

Some NHSScotland national screening programmes, which were paused in March 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, are set to resume in a series of stages. From 29 June 2020, anyone who was invited for cervical screening before the pause, and was yet to make an appointment or had their appointment cancelled, will be able to contact their GP practice to make a new appointment.

Appointment invitations and reminders will be posted from mid-July, with invitations sent first to patients who receive more frequent (non-routine) cervical screening appointments. Routine screening will recommence once NHSScotland has caught up with non-routine appointments affected by the pause.

Source: Scottish Government, 29 June 2020

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has highlighted the risks of lead sources on farms, after reports to its Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit (SFCIU) in the last three months have already surpassed the number of reports made during the whole of the previous recording year. Since April 2020, four incident reports caused by lead exposure and poisoning were received, one more than the whole period between April 2019 and March 2020.

Lead can affect animals in many ways and contamination beyond legal limits in meat, offal and milk puts consumers at risk and is illegal to sell.

Source: FSS, 29 June 2020

The European Environment Agency (EEA) has published provisional data for the average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new passenger cars and vans registered in the EU, Iceland, Norway and the UK in 2019.

The provisional data reports that after a steady decline from 2010 to 2016, of almost 22 grams of CO2 per kilometre (g CO2/km), average emissions from new passenger cars increased in 2017 and in 2018 by 2.8g CO2/km in total. This upward trend continued with an additional increase of 1.6g CO2/km in 2019, reaching 122.4 grams of CO2 per kilometre. This remains below the target of 130g CO2/km that applied until 2019, but well above the EU target of 95g CO2/km that phases-in this year. The EEA report the reasons for the increase in car emissions include the growing share of the sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment, and the market penetration of electric cars remaining slow in 2019.

Vans registered in the EU, Iceland, Norway and the UK in 2019 emitted on average 158.4g CO2/km, which is 0.5g/km more than in 2018. This remains well below the target of 175g CO2/km that applied until 2019, but is still 11g CO2/km higher than the EU target of 147g CO2/km, which applies from this year onwards. Several factors affected this emission increase, including an increase in the average mass and only a limited increase of the share of electric vans (BEV sand PHEV) from 0.8 % in 2018 to 1.3% in 2019.

Source: EEA, 26 June 2020

The European Environment Agency (EEA) has published its yearly briefing presenting progress made by the EU and its member states towards meeting the 2010 emission ceilings, that were applicable until the end of 2019, under the National Emission reduction Commitments (NEC) directive. The briefing also assesses the emission reduction effort, compared with 2018 emissions levels, required by each country to comply with the 2020 and 2030 reduction commitments set out in the directive.

The briefing contained several key messages: 

• In 2018, the EU met the 2010 emission ceilings set for total emissions of four main air pollutants: nitrogen oxides (NOx), non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and ammonia (NH3). 
• EU emissions of NH3 plateaued after five consecutive years of increased emissions from 2013 to 2017. While emissions fell by 1.5% from 2017 to 2018, emission levels in 2018 were higher than in 2010. 
• In 2018, five member states exceeded their 2010 national emission ceilings for NH3, while one also exceeded its NMVOC ceiling. 
• Since 2016, all member states have been in compliance with their national emission ceilings for NOx and SO2. 
• The majority of member states and the UK must make additional efforts to reduce emission levels to meet their 2020 reduction commitments. Reductions in economic activity across Europe in 2020 associated with the COVID-19 lockdowns is expected to lower emissions and may boost progress towards meeting reduction commitments. 
• All EU member states will need to reduce their NOx emissions, moreover half will need to reduce fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emissions by more than 30% below 2018 levels to achieve the 2030 reduction commitments.

The Scottish Environmental Incident Surveillance System (SEISS) recorded the following incident in the past week: 

• On 5 July 2020, the BBC reported that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) were tackling a blaze which broke out in the roof space of a building at Fife Zoo. Fire crews, including four appliances and a specialist resource, were called to the zoo, near Collessie, at 12.11pm on 5 July 2020. A spokesperson for the SFRS said one person had been treated by paramedics for smoke inhalation. Fife zoo confirmed on social media that all of its animals were safe. The zoo is home to a range of animals, including lemurs and zebras. The zoo reopened on 29 June 2020, after closing in March due to the coronavirus lockdown.

More detailed information can be found on the SEISS website.