The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7181 p45-49
19 January 2002

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Infection control agency announced by England's chief medical officer

The Government is to set up a National Infection Control and Health Protection Agency (NICHPA) as part of its first infectious diseases strategy. The agency will cover chemical and radiological hazards, as well as infectious diseases control.

Issues highlighted by the strategy, published on 10 January, include greater global travel leading to increased exposure to infections, environmental and climate change which could widen endemic disease areas and increase food poisoning, changes in human behaviour leading to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases, and the emergence of more drug resistant organisms.

Infectious diseases account for 40 per cent of consultations with health professionals in England and result in 70,000 deaths each year. Around 5,000 patients may die as a result of hospital acquired infections each year.

Sir Liam Donaldson, chief medical officer for England, said: "The strategy sets out a number of key priorities for action: intensifying control measures against tuberculosis, blood-borne viruses (such as HIV and hepatitis B and C), hospital acquired infection and antibiotic resistance; developing expertise for dealing with infection in seriously ill children; developing new vaccines; and identifying more links between infectious diseases and chronic diseases. Attention is also given to developing further action to protect the public's health against the potential threat from terrorism following the attacks on Washington DC and New York on 11 September 2001 and the subsequent anthrax attacks in the United States."

The strategy says that more use could be made of medical records information technology, perhaps through barcoding of vaccines, allowing identification of immunisation status and tracking of adverse events. Short-term developments in vaccines could include more combination or multivaccines, conjugate pneumococcal vaccines for septicaemia, meningitis, pneumonia and ear infections, an injectable polio vaccine and greater use of existing vaccines against chickenpox and hepatitis B.

The development of simple diagnostic tests for infections may allow them to be used for near-patient testing or to be sold through pharmacies for home use, which the strategy says may help in primary care and support rational antibiotic prescribing. However, it also notes that home testing may aggravate the under-reporting of infectious diseases for surveillance purposes.

Over the next 10 years, vaccines are likely to be developed for Group B meningococcal infection, rotavirus gastroenteritis (a common cause of diarrhoea in children), tuberculosis, HIV, respiratory syncytial virus (a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in adults and children) and malaria.

"Getting ahead of the curve: a strategy for combating infectious diseases (including other aspects of health protection)". Copies can be downloaded from the chief medical officer's part of the Department of Health website (www.doh.gov.uk/cmo).

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