COVID-19, Flu, Measles, and other virus UK Health and World News Update 31st October 2025
Happy Halloween!
"If you mean was Covid a disaster? Yes.
Was the loss of education a disaster? Yes.
Was the loss of exams a disaster? Yes.
Was the disappointment, anger, frustration of a large number of kids - the additional frustration - a disaster? Yes it was.
"But it has to be seen in the context of us trying to deal with a much, much bigger disaster"
Boris Johnson, ex- UK PM at the UK COVID Inquiry, with possibly the clearest thing he's ever said.
The UK's early Autumn COVID wave has ended. Hurrah! Activity has "decreased and is now circulating at baseline levels" according to the UK HSA. Good job really, as flu is hitting pretty hard, and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus, which causes coughs and sometimes pneumonia and bronchiolitis) is showing 'mixed activity'.
Norovirus is experiencing an 'uptick' in the UK. This is expected at this time of year, and it's still within normal levels, but 5% higher than usual for the last couple of weeks. Stay home and don't prepare food for others until 48 hours after your last unpleasant visit to the loo, and to help avoid catching it, wash your blooming hands - often and properly with soap. Remember antibacterial hand gels do NOT kill Norovirus.
I mentioned last report that human flu cases in the UK were rising earlier than usual, and it was mainly due to the spread of infection among children. Hospital admissions in England are currently 1 1/2 times greater than last week, and more than double where we were last year.
Asia is still having a hellish time, Japan has declared a flu epidemic and closed over 100 schools, so we were forewarned, and over half term NHS teams have been running 'pop up' vaccination clinics in community spaces like bowling alleys, fire stations, libraries and sports halls.
It is too early to tell if this is just going to be early and over quickly, or if it signals a bad Winter ahead, but the health officials are getting quite twitchy...
NHS England: "This early increase has prompted concerns of flu spreading into the wider population in the coming weeks and triggering a “long and drawn-out flu season”."
The NHS are urging everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
The UK's Royal College of Nursing has warned that racism towards nurses has reached a 'crisis point', having increased by 55% in the last 3 years.
They gave advice and support regarding 700 cases in 2022, and expect to help with 1,000 cases this year.
This is not only from patients, nurses also report racism from colleagues and management. If you consider that only the worst cases are likely to even be reported, these figures will be a drop in the ocean.
UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting is not getting on well with NHS employees. He's now threatened to cut GP and Consultant training for new doctors if they go on strike. This seems a ridiculous threat to make, but he says he can't afford it if he has to pay agencies a fortune to cover shifts for strikes.
It has been estimated that the NHS needs an extra £3 BILLION just to pay for 'unforeseen costs' such as agency staff, redundancies, and increased prices of drugs due to the US administration and pharmaceutical companies demanding the UK pay more... Honestly the US pays an absolute fortune for drugs, in 2022 for the top 50 prescription drugs they paid an average of 2.8 TIMES as much as the rest of the 33 OECD countries (includes UK, most of Europe, North America, some South America, New Zealand, Australia etc), and that gap only seems to have widened. US drug prices need to come down a long, long time before ours go up.
After causing a massive panic and upsetting everyone who believes in science, US Head of Health And Human Services RFK Jr last night backtracked on his previous claim that Autism is caused by acetaminophen (paracetamol, Tylenol). He rambled, but to quote: "...the causative association... is not sufficient to say it definitely causes autism... but it is very suggestive. It’s suggestive in animal studies and cord blood studies and observational studies... there should be a cautious approach to it... consult your physician."
Basically he has realised the reason you are taking paracetamol in the first place potentially has more to do with autism than the paracetamol (and possibly that is still 'nothing').
As for the studies, well.... I can give you an exact figure for the number of non-human animals with autism. It is ZERO. And I covered the cord blood study a while ago. That couldn't tell you why pregnant people had taken paracetamol, or if they took it all through pregnancy, occasionally, often or just while they were in slow labour for the last 3 days. The common sense is at the end - Most pregnant people already approach everything cautiously. Talk to your relevant qualified medical practitioner for advice.
The US politically (healthwise) has been fairly quiet these past couple of weeks. SNAP food payments for thousands of the poorest and most vulnerable Americans may stop tomorrow due to the ongoing lengthy government shutdown, and hundreds of Health and Human Services employees have been told their jobs no longer exist, but aside from that, and RFK Jr announcing they're looking into giving the MMR as 3 separate jabs (there’s nothing to suggest it makes any notable difference, although it costs a lot more and relies on people taking their kids to the doctors for an injection 3 times instead of 1), not a lot for me to report.
A US study published this week has found that you have a 10% higher risk of Long COVID if you have a serious mental illness. This is around 1 in every 6 or 7 people, so it isn't to be taken lightly, and includes schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or recurrent major depressive disorder.
That risk is even greater in groups already known to be more likely to develop Long COVID, including people who are older, black or Hispanic, have ongoing health conditions or were hospitalised during when they caught COVID.
UK Health & Social Care is exposing it's failings yet again, with a new report from Age UK. They found that many elderly people have had such bad experiences in A&E they are reluctant to go again. This includes waiting in disused corridors for up to 36 hours, having to use bedpans or soiling themselves in public, dying in a corridor alone, and watching other people die.
The latest NHS England figures for September show 75% of patients arriving at A&E were seen within 4 hours, but the number of people waiting over 12 hours after being told they needed to be admitted rose from an already horrific 35,909 in August, to 44,765.
Really we can't blame the NHS, they are doing what they can with very limited resources. It always comes back to an inability to get people moved out of hospital beds when they are well enough - but we don’t have the support available for that to happen.
Come on Wes, you said you'd fix this and you haven’t, and it's getting worse. Sort it out. Bring back convalescent homes if you have to, but make it possible for the NHS to do their job.
Two years after the US declared the Clade 2 Mpox emergency over (the World health Organisation didn't exactly agree) there have been 3 unrelated, severe cases of the often much more dangerous and more infectious Clade 1(b) Mpox in California.
It is of most concern because these patients have not travelled abroad recently, which suggests they may have caught it in the US, and there is community spread - which hasn't happened before in the US. It also means there may be more cases out there. All 3 patients are adults and are recovering, but all needed to be admitted to hospital.
It isn't just in America that Mpox Clade 1(b) has begun spreading through local transmission. The European CDC announced last week that just during October they had identified locally-acquired cases in 4 different countries - Spain, the Netherlands, Italy (2) and Portugal. None of the men infected have travelled to Africa recently - where the Mpox endemic countries are. It may be European travel which is causing spread, and they are urging at-risk people to come forward for testing and vaccination.
As a reminder, Mpox is quite hard to catch unless you have close physical contact with an infected person or the fluids that come from their spots or lesions, so general risk is very low indeed. With adults, sexual partners and healthcare workers are most at risk of exposure. As with the Mpox Clade 2 outbreak which had a very low rate of severe disease and mortality, currently in Europe and the US, men who have sex with other men and are not in established monogamous relationships are believed to be mostly at risk.
The New York Times has been delving into vaccine-hesitancy - and found a worrying trend for all US pet owners. It isn’t just their children that increasing numbers of people aren't vaccinating, and some even think their dog can get autism from a rabies jab - which is very concerning in a country with around 4,000 animal rabies cases per year.
They interviewed a US vet (animal doctor not ex-soldier) who talked about animals they had seen dying from leptospirosis and parvovirus, and having to euthanize a puppy that may have had rabies.
There are no figures for how many pets aren't being vaccinated, but surveys suggest between 22% and 52% of owners are hesitant, and there is a clear link between parents who were vaccine-hesitant with their children also being vaccine-hesitant with their pets.
While we are on pets, a vet in Tulare, California, has had rare success in treating cats infected with H5N1 avian flu. He was able to save 2 cats known to be exposed, so they were tested for flu very quickly. They were given fluids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce fever, antibiotics to protect from secondary infections, and the antiviral osteltamivir (Tamiflu).
And that leads us into H5N1 avian flu. Oh boy...
Lets start with humans with H5N1...
Since 1997 over 1,000 humans around the world have been infected by Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1). Almost all caught it while tending to, or disposing of, infected birds or US dairy cattle.
In the US, random testing of dairy workers found some had been infected with H5N1 avian flu without realising. While some of them remembered feeling a bit ill, or having conjunctivitis, some didn't recall having any symptoms.
A CDC study published on Wednesday reviewed worldwide reports up until August 2025, and identified 10 reports of 18 confirmed cases of asymptomatic human infection with A(H5N1) virus.
Of the 18 asymptomatic cases (16 adults, 2 children), 12 had exposure to A(H5N1) virus–infected poultry, but the remaining 6 did not. Those 6 were all tested because they were household contacts of symptomatic infected people. The conclusion is therefore that it's likely human to human transmission has already taken place.
This doesn't change anything, it was always likely, and it's mostly good news really. It's bad news that poorly symptomatic humans might be passing it to other humans, but it appears likely the asymptomatic people didn't go on to infect anyone else, so no sustained human outbreak has (as yet) occurred anywhere. It's also good that people can catch H5N1 and gain immunity without even becoming ill. We can cope with more of that, just a shame it's never guaranteed...
Cambodia has reported their 16th and 17th human cases of avian flu. Both are young girls (age 3 and 14) who were hospitalised. The last I can see the 3 year old was stable in intensive care. Most Cambodian cases are a slightly different strain of H5N1, and to date 8 of the 17 confirmed human patients have not survived.
Mexico has also reported a human with bird flu. She is a 23 year old woman who has recovered and gone home.
Migratory birds and colder weather have come together in an horrific perfect storm this year, causing avian flu season to return to Europe, America and the rest of the Northern hemisphere with a heck of a bang. Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 is almost entirely to blame. There are infected farmed and wild birds by the thousands all over the place.
UK H5N1 Avian Flu:
- The first case of HPAI H5N1 of the 2025 to 2026 outbreak season was confirmed in England on 11th October, Wales 25th October, Northern Ireland on 9th October. Scotland has yet to report any cases.
- From 30th October (yesterday) mandatory indoor housing orders were enacted across much of England. There's a list and maps online, but it appears to include almost the entire North West and Midlands, plus others.
- The latest detections have been reported in commercial poultry in West Suffolk and captive birds in Cumberland.
- Waterfowl across Norfolk and Suffolk have been dying, with swans among those confirmed to have H5N1
Europe H5N1:
- France, the Netherlands and Belgium have already issued mandatory indoor housing orders on all farmed poultry.
- From tomorrow enhanced biosecurity measures are in place in Ireland, as waterfowl move inland. Outbreaks have been reported this month in poultry in County Omagh, and captive birds in County Tyrone.
- On 22nd October France raised the bird flu alert level to 'high', at that point 2 bird flu outbreaks had been detected on poultry farms and 3 in backyard flocks.
- Last week over 1,100 dead cranes were found in Linum, Germany. Other birds were infected by the sick cranes, including ducks and 14,000 geese at 3 neighbouring farms.
- Hong Kong has suspended all imports of poultry meat and eggs from parts of Denmark, Belgium, and Germany due to outbreaks of H5N1
- Today Hungary has announced the deaths of 725 ducks at a farm in Szolnok. The remaining 18,750 birds have been culled.
America H5N1:
(Please note some Government data has a massive lag due to the Government shutdown)
- In the past week alone APHIS has added detections in 16 wild birds, including vultures, geese, owls, ducks and swans.
- In the last 30 days 66 captive US flocks have tested positive, including 33 commercial flocks and 33 backyard flocks.
- A dairy herd in Idaho has been confirmed infected. I know this is not the only one, but it's the only one officially at this point.
- 6 house mice in Washington state have tested positive, likely linked to wild birds (ducks and waterfowl) also infected.
- A black bear in Colorado has been confirmed infected.
Canada H5N1:
- After 4 months off, during September the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed 5 new outbreaks in farmed poultry. In October they have listed 37 detections in domestic birds - of which 21 were in the last week. 31 are commercial poultry.
- 17 human staff were referred for bird flu testing after an outbreak at an Alberta petting zoo. Thankfully as far as I can see they all received negative results.
Australian scientists have found hundreds of dead seal pups on Heard Island in the sub-Antarctic, and the presumption (awaiting results of testing) is that they have been killed by H5N1 bird flu. H5N1 is known to have a devastating effect on several types of seals, and has already been found on the nearby French Kerguelen and Crozet islands.
Australia is as yet still free of bird flu, as Oceania is the only continent which avoids mass migration of birds such as geese.
Tennessee has an unusually large outbreak of Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. This is a common childhood illness which causes a rash (mostly on the hands and feet) and sore ulcers in the mouth. Most people recover entirely within 7 to 10 days, and are often only advised to stay at home if they have a fever, feel poorly or are otherwise struggling. It only rarely causes complications, although it can be rough on newborn babies, so should especially be avoided in later pregnancy.
At least 178 children and staff at 31 Tennessee schools and daycare centres have caught the virus since August.
Canada has now had over a year of sustained locally-acquired measles cases, which means officially they can lose their 'measles-free country' status (which they gained in 1998). Sorry guys.
Since 27th October 2024, over 5,000 people in Canada were infected, and heartbreakingly 2 infants infected in the womb were born prematurely and died shortly after birth.
During 2025, up until 18th October, a total of 5,109 measles cases (4,748 confirmed, 361 probable) have been reported across 10 Canadian jurisdictions (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan).
The US measles situation is still chugging along without stopping. Measles activity is still deemed 'high' in Arizona and Utah, and South Carolina has joined them, with an outbreak linked to 2 schools with low vaccination rates.
During 2025, up to 28th October, a total of 1,648 confirmed measles cases have been reported across 42 jurisdictions, and 3 people have died. There have been 43 outbreaks in 2025 (87% of confirmed cases). By comparison, 16 outbreaks were reported during the whole of 2024, and 285 cases.
Mexico also has a big measles outbreak, and in an update on 24th October, the Ministry of Health reported a total of 5,053 confirmed cases in 2025. 23 people have died.
The UK measles situation has calmed. There may be some reporting delays, but 31 confirmed cases have (as yet) been confirmed in England in September, down from a high of 130 in May. In England only during 2025, up to 20th October, a total of 811 confirmed measles cases have been reported, just over half were in London. One child with additional health problems died.
Boris Johnson gave evidence at the UK COVID Inquiry this week. He was popular, the gallery was filled with bereaved relatives.
The inquiry was told last week by ex-Education Secretary Gavin Williamson that they had made an error by "sticking to the plan" to try and keep schools open, and the plan to close schools was only made the day before they were actually shut on 18th March 2020. He also accused ministers of "not putting children first" when they again closed schools in January 2021. He said ex-PM Boris Johnson "chose the NHS over children" and "the consequences for children weren't properly taken into account".
This week Boris defended himself, saying that understanding and the rate of COVID infections were both increasing rapidly. They had hoped closing schools would be "a measure of last resort", and making decisions so late in the day was "entirely understandable given the immensity of the decision". He said children paid a "huge price" on behalf of others, and praised teachers for doing "outstandingly well" in an "unbelievably difficult set of circumstances".
It was very clear that Gavin Williamson and Boris Johnson did not get on well, with messages and emails from both not being very kind to the other. Gav had messages full of expletives, and Boris had messaged his advisors saying he needed "better ministers" and was thinking of firing people.
Boris did agree entirely when questioned, that the way exam results were awarded was a "disaster", saying: "You try coming up with a system to give a fair exam result when they can't sit exams. It's not easy, ok."
No, it isn't easy, accepted. Probably was a bit stupid and very naive to just give the private pupils much higher average results than the state educated pupils though...
The UK COVID Inquiry has given us some insight into just how much money was wasted by the UK Government, and it's literally criminal. Around 1 MILLION pallets of unusable PPE have been incinerated, with a value of approximately £8.6 BILLION (over 1 Billion came from VIP Lane suppliers). That is enough to fund 200,000 nurses for a year, and doesn't even include the cost of storing or destroying the PPE.
This year's annual flu jab has been found to have approximately halved hospitalisations and need for medical care across 8 participating countries in the Southern hemisphere. 50% efficacy clearly isn't perfect, but it’s expected and usual for a flu jab, and will save thousands of lives in the UK alone. Last Winter around 8,000 people died from flu in the UK. Every time a person doesn't become severely ill is not only a huge win for them and their loved ones, it means less chance of infecting others, medical facilities don't become (even more) overwhelmed, and the world keeps turning.
The last Ebola patient in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was discharged on 19th October, beginning a 42-day countdown to declaring the outbreak over - if no further cases are confirmed.
The outbreak was declared on 4th September in Bulape health zone, in Kasai Province, and there have been no new cases since 25th September. In total, 64 cases (53 confirmed and 11 probable) have been reported. Only 19 patients recovered.
The outbreak was in a rural area which was hard to reach and has no electricity. Even so, they set up a 32 bed treatment centre and vaccinated 35,000 people, and have been able to begin the countdown within 6 weeks of the first case. Absolutely stunning. Well done to everyone involved. Fingers crossed.
A team from Warwick University in the UK and Monash University in Australia have discovered a powerful new antibiotic - in a bacteria scientists have been making and studying for the last 50 years.
This is an "intermediate chemical that's created during the process of making another antibiotic, methylenomycin A", and everyone's wondering why it never occurred to scientists to try it before. It's only been used in lab tests so far, but in a petri dish it was incredibly effective against both Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) - two of the infections which are hardest to treat using existing antibiotics.
Obviously more studies are ongoing, including testing other 'intermediate chemicals' formed when making other antibiotics. Two for the work of one!
We shall end with some more good news. We've been hearing quite a bit recently about how various vaccinations can 'awaken' parts of the immune system and other body processes, and in turn help protect us from things like Dementia, which were completely unrelated to the job the original vaccination was doing. Well, it appears mRNA COVID vaccines boost cancer immunotherapy survival rates.
Researchers from University of Florida and MD Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston have discovered that patients with advanced lung or skin cancer, who had mRNA COVID vaccines within 100 days of beginning 'checkpoint inhibitor therapy' immunotherapy drugs, were twice as likely to be alive 3 years later compared to unvaccinated patients.
The study builds on years of work pre-COVID, where they had been working with mRNA vaccines and mice in a lab. COVID mRNA vaccines gave them the opportunity to look at real world human results. Interestingly the patients who were expected to respond least well to immunotherapy drugs seem to benefit most from the boost gained from their mRNA COVID jabs. More studies are needed to check this is definitely a 'cause and effect' situation, but it gives hope for a simple and achievable immunotherapy boost for cancer treatments of many kinds.
It is the weekend - hurrah! It is also Halloween. Be careful out there, carry something white or bright, and don't eat too many sweeties.. If you aren't going to be eating your own bodyweight in jelly bats, don't forget to give yourself a treat you can enjoy - you've earnt it! I'll be back in 2 weeks, until then...
Make Sure You Can Be Seen When Walking In The Dark, Sneeze Into Your Elbow, Save The NHS...
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Patients with advanced lung or skin cancer who received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine within 100 days of starting immunotherapy drugs lived significantly longer than those who did not get the vaccine, researchers have found.
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COVID jab increases Cancer survival rates
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