UK public health officials have warned of worrying rises in infectious diseases since the pandemic, including those that can be prevented with vaccination.
Measles, tuberculosis (TB), whooping cough, and sexually transmitted infections all saw notable increases in the year 2023/24, the first annual infectious diseases report from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) found.
It also outlined the cost to the health service, with infectious diseases being the primary reasons for 20% of hospital bed usage.
The impact is not seen evenly around the country with hospital admission rates due to infections almost twice as high for people in the 20% most deprived areas compared to the least deprived, UKHSA data showed.
A surge in cases of measles in children under the age of 10 and an outbreak of whooping cough in 2024, in which 10 infants under three months old died, highlight the critical importance of vaccination, the report noted.
The return of social mixing, international travel and migration following the Covid pandemic have contributed to some of the patterns seen in the data, UKHSA said.
It includes an 11% increase in TB cases in 2023 compared to 2022, with provisional data for 2024 showing a further increase of 13%.
Such increases put the UK on track to lose its World Health Organisation (WHO) low incidence status, officials warned.
The UKHSA also published separate figures showing imported cases of dengue in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have reached a record high. In 2024, 904 dengue cases were reported in returning travellers, up from 631 in 2023.
While seasonal respiratory viruses continue to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality, a 30% drop in the hospital admission rate for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in 75-to-79-year-olds who were eligible for the new vaccine campaign is a positive sign, the report found.
Increased rates of sexually transmitted infections were also highlighted by UKHSA as a key issue, with the number of gonorrhoea diagnoses in 2023 being the largest reported since records began, as well as a 9.4% rise in infectious syphilis.
But there are also novel interventions on the horizon with mpox vaccination of high-risk groups already introduced and a routine gonorrhoea vaccination programme advised by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
Evidence-based clinical guideline for the use of doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis for the prevention of syphilis is also currently out for public consultation.
Declining Covid transmission, with the virus circulating at baseline levels of activity for much of the current winter season, and continued progress in eliminating viral hepatitis C were flagged by the report as more positive signs.
UKHSA director of epidemic and emerging infections Richard Pebody said: ‘This winter has demonstrated that rises in rates of infectious diseases can cause significant strain, not only on the individuals directly affected, but also on the NHS.
‘It is vital that we are not complacent about infections where we can reduce the burden of disease via interventions such as our world-class vaccination programmes.’
UKHSA chief executive Dame Jenny Harries said: ‘Our scientific capability and the introduction of new interventions are all helping to keep people safe and well, but our report also highlights that we have plenty of work and opportunities ahead.
‘Along with our partners across the healthcare sector, we need to be bolder. Behind this data there are real people, people who are sick or at risk of becoming sick, and in some cases dying. This brings with it a cost to our economy too. Yet much of this harm and distress is preventable.’
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