The World Health Organization (WHO) continues to produce daily situation reports containing the latest numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19. As of 1 March 2020, 87,137 cases, including 2,977 deaths, had been confirmed globally.

On 1 March 2020, Scotland reported its first presumptive positive case. The patient, who had recently travelled back to the UK from northern Italy, has been admitted to hospital and is being treated in isolation.

Advice for travellers

Prior to travel, the following should be checked: 

• The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website, which provides guidance for UK nationals travelling overseas, including how to seek consular assistance if required. 
• Travel agents or airlines, to access the latest information on local travel restrictions and local authority guidance relating to COVID-19. 
• Travel insurance policies, as the COVID-19 outbreak may impact travel insurance coverage. 
• The FCO countries or territories pages, for the latest travel advice, including: 
  • Travel advisories and restrictions, as these are subject to change they should be checked regularly. The FCO currently advise against all travel to Hubei Province and all but essential travel to the rest of mainland China (not including Hong Kong and Macao). 
  • Entry requirements for the destination, as a number of countries have announced restrictions on entry by travellers from China in response to the outbreak. 
  • Reports of COVID-19 at the destination. Travellers to countries reporting cases of COVID-19 should follow local public health advice.

Travellers from risk areas who develop symptoms on return to the UK, that are compatible with COVID-19, should self-isolate and contact one of the following: 

• their General Practitioner or NHS24 out-of-hours (Call 111)  (Scotland) 
• NHS 111 (England and Wales) 
• 0300 200 7885 (Northern Ireland)

Travellers can access information on COVID-19, including prevention advice, on the fitfortravel and NHS Inform websites.

Advice for healthcare practitioners

Health professionals should remain vigilant for symptomatic individuals who may have COVID-19.

Guidance on testing, as well as a range of other resource materials, is available from the Health Protection Scotland (HPS - for Scotland) and Public Health England (PHE - for the rest of the UK) websites.

Health professionals can access information on COVID-19, including prevention advice, on the TRAVAX website.

Source: TRAVAX, 27 February 2020

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reports continued transmission of dengue in islands of the French Antilles. The islands affected so far are: 

• Guadeloupe, which has reported 5,840 cases of dengue between October 2019 and 15 February 2020. An epidemic was declared in January 2020. 
• Saint Martin, which has reported 530 cases, including one death, between the third week of 2020 and 15 February 2020. An epidemic was declared in January 2020. 
• Saint Barthelemy, which has reported 104 cases from the end of November 2019 to 15 February 2020. 
• Martinique, which has reported 2,470 cases, including one death, between July 2019 and 15 February 2020. The island is considered to be at risk of a dengue epidemic.

Dengue is the second most common identified cause of febrile illness in returning travellers and the number of cases continues to increase. All travellers to endemic regions are potentially at risk of dengue fever and should be aware of this infection. Prevention relies on avoiding mosquito bites at all times.

Travellers developing a fever during or on return from travel are advised to seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Information and advice for travellers on dengue is available from the TRAVAX (for health professionals) and fitfortravel (for the general public) websites.

Source: TRAVAX, 27 February 2020

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has published its annual tuberculosis (TB) epidemiological report for 2017.

During 2017, 31 EU/EEA countries reported 55,337 TB cases. The number of notifications per 100,000 of the population was 10.7, continuing the downward trend observed since the launch of European enhanced TB surveillance in 1996.

The estimated TB mortality rate in the EU/EEA, excluding HIV deaths in co-infected TB cases, was 0.8 deaths per 100,000 population, with 4,000 estimated deaths overall. 

Source: ECDC, 24 February 2020

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has launched a new campaign in partnership with Allergy UK and Young Scot, which aims to encourage young people to talk about their food allergies and ensure the food they choose is safe.

The key points of the campaign are: 

• to encourage young people across Scotland to make others aware of their food allergies 
• to check food labels and menus when they are eating out 
• to remind young people to take their allergy pen with them, if needed

The campaign follows a survey from FSS, which found that 44% of young people with a food allergy would not always mention it to the person they are buying food from in a restaurant or café. The survey further suggests that 12-18-year-olds do not always tell the person they are buying food from about an allergy, either because they do not want to make a fuss, do not think it is important to tell staff or they are too embarrassed to say.

Source: FSS, 27 February 2020

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published the results of their biannual public attitudes tracker, which monitors changes in consumer attitudes to food-related issues in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Awareness of different types of food poisoning has gradually increased in the last two years. While awareness of Salmonella (92%) and E. coli (86%) were already relatively high, awareness of norovirus (60%) and Listeria (61%) have increased by eight and 15 percentage points respectively since November 2017.

Concerns were raised by 45% of survey respondents regarding food safety in UK restaurants, pubs, cafes and takeaways, while 40% of respondents reported similar concerns about UK shops and supermarkets. Reported concern has continued to decrease slightly over time, indicating a general decline regarding food safety in UK food outlets.

The majority (78%) reported that they trust that food is what it says it is and is accurately labelled and 76% trusted the authenticity of ingredients, origin and quality of food. Findings also demonstrated that 83% of respondents felt they had enough information about what food contains to make their food choices.

Source: FSA, 24 February 2020

The European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM) has launched an open consultation on the draft scientific opinion on the risks to human health related to the presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food.

PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals that have been manufactured and used in a variety of industries around the world since the 1940s. Certain PFAS do not break down in the environment or in the human body, and can accumulate over time, while exposure to PFAS may lead to adverse health effects.

People can be exposed to PFAS in different ways, for example through food. Food can become contaminated in many ways, such as through soil and water contamination, concentration of substances in animals via feed and water, food packaging containing PFAS, or equipment that contained PFAS during food processing.

Interested parties are invited to submit written comments by 20 April 2020, which will then be considered by the relevant EFSA Panel.

Source: EFSA, 24 February 2020

On 21 February 2020, the UK Government announced plans to phase out the sale of coal and wet wood for domestic burning in England between 2021 and 2023. The use of cleaner alternatives, such as dry wood and manufactured solid fuels, will be encouraged instead.

Wood burning stoves and coal fires are the single largest source of the pollutant PM2.5, emitting twice the contribution of industrial combustion and three times the contribution of road transport. This form of pollution has been identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the most serious air pollutant to human health.

Source: UK Government, 21 February 2020

On 25 February 2020, the Scottish Government published a new environment strategy. By 2045, the strategy hopes to help transform Scotland and secure the wellbeing of the environment and biodiversity, by restoring nature and ending Scotland’s contribution to climate change. To fulfil these aims, it is hoped Scotland will: 

• play a full role in tackling the global climate emergency and limiting temperature rise to 1.5˚C 
• use and re-use resources more wisely, bringing an end to the throwaway culture 
• promote a sustainable economy that conserves and grows natural assets 
• support a healthy environment that delivers a fairer, more inclusive society

To ensure environmental standards are maintained once the transition period ends, an independent public body to oversee compliance with environmental law will be established in Scotland.

Source: Scottish Government, 25 February 2020

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

• BBC news reported a major fire at a primary school in the Highlands on 24 February 2020. All children and staff at Park Primary in Invergordon were safely evacuated, after a fire broke out within the building. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) attended the scene and extinguished the fire. The damage to the school is significant and the incident will be subject to a full fire investigation by the SFRS.

More detailed information can be found on the SEISS website.