COVID-19, COVID Inquiry, Measles, Avian Flu and Other Health and Virus UK and World News Update 17th April 2026
Hello! Welcome back, glad you didn’t forget me. I hope you had a fabulous Easter, with a break! I had Easter and late Christmas, saw most of my family (boo to broken windscreens!) and it was epic. Back to it...
UK NHS waiting lists fell by another 20,000 in February, for a total reduction of almost 300,000 since Labour were elected, and lists are now at the lowest levels since 2023. Credit where it's due, not all of those 300,000 died waiting, and hopefully they weren't all just shipped off to private companies to have the work done at twice the price, so well done and thank you to the NHS staff who made it happen.
UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting also informs us A&E performance is the best in 4 years, ambulance response times are the best in 5 years, and record numbers of people are receiving cancer diagnosis or the all-clear within 28 days. This is very good news, well done, keep improving.
Resident Doctors in England were on strike from 7th to 13th April. It was the 15th walkout since March 2023.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: “It is enormously disappointing …. this government has pulled every available lever to put forward a generous package… that would have transformed the working lives and career prospects of resident doctors.”
The chair of the BMA’s Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) said: "As talks progressed it became clear that the money proposed for pay increases was now going to be spread over three years. This is combined with today’s pay review body (DDRB) recommendation of a 3.5% uplift pointing to yet more years in which our pay, at best, barely treads water."
A week before the strikes, UK PM Keir Starmer issued an ultimatum, saying if the deal wasn't accepted he'd withdraw 1,000 new training positions, which is the most ridiculous threat a UK politician has made this year, and hurts just about everyone except the striking Residents - who already have training positions - and Keir, who has private medical care.
The training posts were withdrawn, but a Government spokesperson said they won't impact the overall number of NHS doctors as they were going to be created from existing short-term posts for Resident Doctors who can't get full training posts anyway.
Oh, okay then. You couldn't make it up...
COVID has a new and exciting variant. BA.3.2 is also known as Cicada, and has been around for about 18 months - it was first detected in South Africa in November 2024. It's called Cicada because it's evolved from Omicron BA.3, which went quiet in early 2022, and like the Cicada beetle, has re-emerged. Cicada doesn’t appear to be any more deadly than other variants, but it has a staggering 70-75 mutations in the 'spike protein' - the part which our immune system recognises. It's basically wearing a camouflage jacket and on paper should easily slip past immunity, including immunity gained from current vaccines or prior infections. That said, so far it isn't causing massive waves or moving particularly rapidly.
Cicada is currently spreading around the US, and has been detected in at least 23 other countries, including the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Mozambique and Japan.
Last December the World Health Organisation designated Cicada as a ‘variant under monitoring’ because of its potential, but as yet, it's not really dominating anywhere. Maybe that camouflage jacket is hindering its attack rate or ability to get into human cells...
COVID levels are currently baseline in England, with the exception of children under 14, where it is pretty high and has been since the start of the year (as are hospital admissions). Presumably COVID is circulating through schools and nurseries, but for whatever reason it isn’t affecting older populations so much. Could it be related to B.3.2 Cicada? It's a possibility.
The UK COVID Inquiry yesterday released its 4th report, covering development and deployment of vaccines and therapeutics. Crack a smile, because it's likely to be the most positive part of the whole inquiry. Report lead Baroness Hallett said in many ways these were our success stories. Nonetheless she has 5 key recommendations for improvement:
- establish an expert advisory panel to oversee development, procurement and manufacturing of pharmaceuticals
- produce targeted vaccination strategies and communications, to increase vaccine uptake and reduce inequalities
- improve monitoring and evaluation of vaccine uptake and delivery
- facilitate regulatory bodies’ access to healthcare records for safety monitoring of new vaccines and therapeutics
- reform the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, and increase minimum payment asap. These people took the hit to protect everyone, we owe them and their relatives big time.
We all know the UK NHS needs massive investment in order to improve. It’s been underfunded for over a decade, and cannot claw it's way out of that hole without a huge injection of cash. Sadly the NHS is now spending an absolute fortune paying private companies to fill some of the gaps they can't cover, and the Centre for Health and the Public Interest (CHPI) have found that from 2023-2025 760 of those private healthcare firms (this is not the full total) made a whopping £1.6 BILLION in profits from NHS England. Enough to fund 9,178 doctors or 19,428 nurses, 533 top notch MRI scanners or a couple of superyachts.
Contracts over 2 years for just those 760 companies were worth £12 BILLION, with £2bn going to firms with owners based outside the UK, and £533m to firms owned by people living in tax havens, including Jersey and the Cayman Islands.
Literally pouring UK money into the hands of very wealthy people and companies who don't even pay tax, while UK infrastructure crumbles.
Simply capping allowable profit at a very healthy 8% would have saved the NHS £656 MILLION.
And talking of NHS failures... The Kings Fund has looked at admin, and found a staggering 2 in 3 NHS users in 2025 had an admin problem. Unbelievably 23%, almost 1 in 4, received a letter inviting them to an appointment AFTER the date of the appointment. With people generally waiting months to see a specialist this is heartbreaking, and really expensive.
Wes Streeting is attempting to sort out admin, and honestly he needs to. Something is very much awry.
The UK union UNISON has surveyed international healthcare staff and found 43% are considering leaving. A quarter didn’t feel welcome and around 1 in 5 don't even feel safe.
This is a huge problem because the UK does not train enough doctors and nurses, and for years has relied heavily on importing talent. If we don't retain these staff then UK health and social care will fall apart (more than it is already).
42% of UK doctors qualified abroad. In 2024, 4,880 of them left.
Last year between April and September only 6,321 internationally educated nurses joined the UK register, which is 50% down on 2024.
The NHS is already understaffed. Losing them makes those who remain even more demoralised and overworked.
The Kings Fund have published the results of the 2025 British Social Attitudes survey.
When asked "are you satisfied with how the NHS runs?", 26% of British adults were ‘very’ or ‘quite’ satisfied - up from 20% in 2024. 51% were dissatisfied, compared to 59% in 2024.
"This is the first increase in satisfaction since 2019, and the largest fall in dissatisfaction in more than 25 years."
Erm yeah, a big improvement, but let's be honest, it's a very low bar.
Most satisfied were people over 65 (35%), Unhappiest were people under 35 (20%) and the Welsh (18%).
Overwhelmingly 89-96% of people still believe the NHS should exist, be available to everyone free of charge and be paid for via taxes. 45% of people believe we should increase taxes and spend more on the NHS.
Other key points:
- 14% of respondents said they were satisfied with social care. 49% were dissatisfied.
- Only 22% are satisfied with A&E and dentistry.
- Only 36% are satisfied with GP services.
- Only 16% think the standard of NHS care will improve over the next five years.
- 71% of people feel the NHS is understaffed.
The war in the Middle East is causing all kinds of shortages, not just oil, and medical supplies are a big one for the UK. We only manufacture around 25% of our own drugs, most things come in by air or sea, and both of those routes are disrupted. There are concerns about maintaining financially sound stocks of everything from paracetamol, cancer and heart medicines, to surgical gloves, syringes and gowns.
The UK government has accepted advice from JCVI on eligibility for the Autumn 2026 COVID-19 vaccination programme in England - it's the same as Spring and Autumn 2025 and Spring 2026.
- adults aged 75 years and over
- residents in care homes for older adults
- individuals aged 6 months and over who are immunosuppressed, as defined in the COVID-19 chapter of the green book.
While we're on COVID vaccinations... The US CDC’s acting director, Jay Bhattacharya, delayed the publication of a report that found the COVID vaccine is effective, reportedly claiming concerns with the methodology. In fact it uses the same usual methodology as other reports, including another CDC report in March.
The research found that between September and December 2025, healthy COVID vaccinated adults were about half as likely to be hospitalised or visit A&E/Emergency.
Some more evidence... A population-level study from Ontario, Canada, looked at sudden cardiac death in healthy young people 12-50yrs old. From 6.4 million health records they found 4,803 individuals who "died suddenly" (ultimately from cardiac arrest) between 1st April 2021 and 30th June 2023, without reaching hospital or within 24 hours of admission. They only included cases with no sign of trauma, mental illness or substance use, and no history of any associated illness, disease, drug or alcohol misuse etc.
They matched each of these people with 5 controls the same age, sex, geographic area and neighbourhood income.
They found NO increase in sudden death (including the period immediately after vaccination) after a 1st, 2nd or 3rd dose of COVID vaccination. In fact there was a 43% REDUCED risk of sudden death in the COVID vaccinated group.
These are the same results as UK 2023 studies at 4 and 12 weeks after vaccination. COVID vaccinations do not kill you, they protect you.
Thankfully the swift action of all involved stemmed the meningitis outbreak in Kent, UK. In total 21 people were eventually confirmed infected and 2 died.
Speed is of the essence with meningitis, so everyone with symptoms being aware, seeking swift medical care and being given antibiotics rapidly absolutely saved lives and wellbeing, as did the preventative vaccinations and antibiotics given to contacts. It could have been so much worse. Seriously, well done to everyone who was involved, and genuine compassion to those who lost someone they cared for.
Vietnam has a major outbreak of Hand, Foot and Mouth - this is a human disease not to be confused with the Foot and Mouth disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals.
Usually HF&M causes mild symptoms, and it's a common childhood illness, but the strain Enterovirus 71 is particularly quick to transmit and very harsh, and accounts for 1/4 of samples Vietnam has tested. Over 26,000 cases were reported to the end of March, with a massive 837 in Ho Chi Minh City alone between 9th and 15th March. At least 8 people have died. Children under 5 are most susceptible.
Well, if you ever wondered what happens when a change of Government occurs and they fail to buy enough vaccinations for the kids, heartbreakingly Bangladesh is showing us.
In 2025 the whole of Bangladesh reported just 125 confirmed measles cases. This year they have a very quick-spreading outbreak, and as of last weekend had reported an estimated 7,500 infections (900 confirmed) and 130 deaths (17 confirmed).
On Sunday with help from partners including WHO and UNICEF they launched an emergency vaccination campaign, and hope to vaccinate around 1.2 million children who missed their childhood immunisations and are especially vulnerable.
Mexico is still having a measles nightmare, with the latest PAHO report on 16th April quoting 8,655 confirmed cases this year already (other possibly more up-to-date sources say 11,889 and 32 deaths).
In the US, as of 16th April there have been 1,748 confirmed measles cases reported by the CDC.
In 2026 Canada has reported 789 measles cases (724 confirmed, 65 probable) up to 4th April.
UK, hello. In 2026 up to 13th April there have been 407 laboratory confirmed measles cases reported in England, mostly driven by the ongoing outbreaks in London (229) and Birmingham/ West Midlands (100). (Scotland 10, N.I. 8, Wales unknown.)
Anyone else for measles? Well apparently yes, and with a surge in cases in Asia, New South Wales in Australia has reported 43 cases already this year. "Only 43?" you might say, but over the past 10 years they've only had 240 cases in total.
The whole of Australia reported 168 measles cases in 2025, up from just 57 in 2024, and the vaccination rate for 2 year olds has dropped to 89.7%. Darn you vaccine hesitancy...
Sadly the respite is over and the USDA have reported 5 new dairy cow herds in Idaho have tested positive for H5N1 bird flu, the first since last December.
In just over 2 years a total of 1,093 herds across 19 states have tested positive.
The US has also reported that in the last 30 days an additional 35 bird flocks have been confirmed positive for H5N1 (23 commercial, 12 backyard).
On 4th April English dairy farmers online shared letters informing them that the UK's Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) are beginning H5N1 bird flu testing of milk samples from English dairy farms - just in case. Seems prudent to me.
The bird flu situation has really quietened down in the UK, and on the 9th April universal housing measures were lifted. Keepers are now allowed to let their birds outside, except obviously where bird flu has been detected locally and protection or monitoring zones are in place.
There have been 4 newly detected H5N1 infected UK flocks since my last report, 3 in West Lindsey, Lincolnshire and 1 in South Cambridgeshire.
Humans can also catch Avian Flu, including H5N1 which is a HPAI - High Pathogenic Avian Influenza (a more dangerous one). Thankfully it's rare, and no human to human transmission of H5N1 has ever been detected.
Cambodia on 15th March reported their 3rd human with H5N1 this year, their 37th in just over 3 years. It is a 3 year old and the family's chickens had become ill.
The first European imported case of a human with Avian Flu, and first European case of the strain influenza A(H9N2) has occurred in the Lombardy Region of Italy. Coincidentally this is the same area where COVID arrived and caused a huge number of deaths back in early 2020, so the locals must have had a moment of panic when this news broke.
Avian Flu A(H9N2) is a Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (LPAI) which causes mild disease in humans. The patient is a 20 year old male already in frail health who returned from Senegal in Africa and was hospitalised a few days after his arrival at Milan Malpensa. He has no known contact with birds. Again, no human to human cases of H9N2 have ever been recorded.
China reported 2 new H9N2 human flu cases yesterday, which makes 22 in just the last 6 months. The 2025 total was 29. This is increasing, in 2024 there were just 11.
On 2nd April Taiwan reported a human infected with H7N7, another LPAI. Officials were quick to inform locals "No drug-resistant mutations were found, and the virus remains sensitive to antiviral drugs; the public need not panic."
The latest joint TB surveillance and monitoring report from WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) estimates 204,000 people in the WHO European region caught tuberculosis (TB) in 2024. This is down 39% on 2015 figures, which is really great, although they'd hoped for 50%.
The bad news is there were only 161,569 new cases reported - meaning around 40,000 (1 in 5) have been missed.
Most people who have caught TB have 'latent TB'. They are not ill or infectious, and only a blood or skin test can detect the TB. In somewhere between 5% and 15% of people the TB at some point becomes active, spreads through the body and they will become ill with a cough, fever, weight loss, exhaustion, chest pain etc. The fatality rate of active TB is around 50% (1 in 2) without treatment, and under 10% (less than 1 in 10) with treatment. Active TB can develop immediately, decades later or anywhere in between, and if it spreads to areas like the voice box or lungs, the patient becomes infectious. Both latent and active TB require 6-12 months of drug treatment to cure. Tracing and testing contacts of active cases is essential to find latent cases and prevent them becoming active.
The New World Screwworm only has another 90 miles to go before it reaches the US border. 2 years ago it was about 1800 miles away, and at this rate it could need its passport by next month.
Oh what a foolhardy thing to allow it back. Cuts to surveillance, monitoring and the production of sterile male flies (they only breed once) have allowed it to spread back towards the US. The estimated cost PER YEAR if it returns is around $900 MILLION. Farmers in Texas are being warned to be vigilant.
Scientists have finally discovered how the parasite that causes Sleeping Sickness evades our immune system. It covers itself in an invisibility cloak made from protein. Now they can look at how to make it visible again...
DRC's mpox outbreak began with Clade 1b in late 2023, and was made worse by an additional Clade 1a outbreak during 2024. In total there have been over 20,000 cases so far, and more than 900 people have died, most of them young children.
On Thursday 2nd April the DRC officially declared the end of the Mpox epidemic as a national emergency.
They have worked incredibly hard with partners including the World Health Organisation and Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) on surveillance, diagnosis, vaccination and public education. Countries including Belgium, Germany and Japan donated vaccines. Thanks guys, you rock.
Phew... hopefully you spotted the good news there, because there was plenty, although sometimes it comes with caveats. We need good news now more than ever, the news is not exactly lightweight, and there is a lot of suffering going on. Personally I don't believe in a God, but I'm with The Pope. Peace should be available to everyone.
I hope you did have a good Easter, and remembered to look after yourself - do something nice, treat yourself, spoil yourself even. We all deserve it. Life can be hard, you need to have things to look forward to and bring you joy. It doesn't matter what it is. This weekend we have 2 days with no visitors, lots of leftover chocolate, and my partner needs to catch up on about 20 hours of sleep, so I shall be doing the early shifts with the puppy and letting him lie in, and he can pick our teenagers up from work in the evenings. Tonight though, night off, movie, beverages, snacks. Job's a goodun...
I'll be back in 2 weeks, until then...
Get Some Fresh Air, Focus On The Good News, Save The NHS...
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Regular Sources COVID/Measles/H5N1 etc
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
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UK latest COVID cases UPDATES THURSDAY 4pm
GP surveillance England Primary Care
https://www.rcgp.org.uk/representing-you/research-at-rcgp/research-surveillance-centre/public-health-data
US CDC respiratory dashboard
https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/data/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/index.html
Measles Sit Rep US CDC
UK cases Measles
Canada Measles
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WHO ending malaria image
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Wes video - Ambulance and A&E
Starmer issues 48-hour ultimatum over 'reckless' doctors' strikes | Politics News | Sky News
Resident doctors strikes
Resident doctors strikes quote Wes
Resident doctors strikes dates image
Wes Streeting strikes
1,000 posts cancelled, but don't worry
New COVID variant with immune escape potential confirmed in US, 22 other countries
I’m a doctor. Here’s what you need to know about Covid variant spreading quickly across US | The Independent
US CDC Cicada
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New Covid strain that could evade protection from vaccine found in UK | The Independent
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WHO COVID variants under monitoring
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COVID Inquiry 4 in brief
Baroness Hallett statement
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CHPI assessment of private care funded by NHS
Dr Rachel
Still Lost In The System: The Urgent Need For Better NHS Admin | The King's Fund
More than 40% of international health staff considering leaving UK – survey
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Health Secretary welcomes large fall in NHS dissatisfaction - GOV.UK
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CDC found COVID vaccine effective
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Paper post COVID vaccination and sudden death
Sudden death and covid vaccination
Feb 2025 Early fears that COVID raises risk of sudden cardiac events in athletes unfounded
Meningitis Kent
Latest news on case total
Meningitis outbreak: Number of cases falls for first time | UK News | Sky News
Vietnam Hand Foot and Mouth
Vietnam 8 deaths HF&M
Bangladesh measles Monday 5th
BBC World Bangladesh measles
Measles outbreak kills at least 15 in Bangladesh
Bangladesh launches measles vaccination drive as child death toll passes 100 | Bangladesh | The Guardian
Measles Mexico
PAHO measles report at least 4th April
Measles US
MEasles UK England
Scotland
Northern Ireland
Australia NSW measles
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NSW measles 17th April
Bird flu US flocks
Bird flu US dairy herds
BIRD FLU SURVEILLANCE IN ENGLISH DAIRY HERDS
Bird flu UK
My last H5N1 avian influenza bird flu report
HUMANS WITH BIRD FLU
Avian Flu Diary: Cambodian MOH Announces 3rd Human H5N1 Case
Cambodian MOH announcement han H5N1
https://www.reddit.com/r/BirdFluPreps/s/OSJWGJlHT1
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First European human with avian flu-Lombardy in Italy
First European wirh avian flu H9N2
Italian confirmation human with H9N2
H5N1 in Eurpoe for first time - from SENEGAL
First European with bird flu Avian Influenza
Avian Flu Diary
Two new H9N2 avian flu cases reported on mainland China
Taiwan CDC: Human Infection with a Novel H7 Avian Virus
Taiwan CDC
https://www.reddit.com/r/ContagionCuriosity/s/NzWXfve5nj
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European TB Monitoring Report
TB layent v active
What is TB
TB treatment outcomes
New World Screwworm 90 miles from Texas
New world screwworm Texas Commissioner
Reddit Screwworm conversation
Scientists Solve 40-Year-Old Biological Mystery Behind Sleeping Sickness
DRC Mpox epidemic over
MSF DRC Mpox
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