National (UK) and international work

The HPA is charged with co-ordinating health protection across the whole of the UK and is the UK portal for the European Union Early Warnings and Alerts and for Assistance Calls. Experts at the HPA Centre for Infections liaise closely with their equivalents in Health Protection Scotland, Public Health Wales and Public Health Agency, Northern Ireland and, through the Five Nations Partnership, with colleagues in Eire. Many specialist microbiological services are provided at the Centre for the whole of the UK and this helps to ensure consistent UK surveillance data are available for many diseases.

The Centre works closely with other centres, particularly those in Europe, North America and Australasia. The Centre are active participants in all the European public health infectious disease networks supported by the European Commission, and has acted as the coordinating centre for many of these. In addition, the Centre is active in many EU funded research networks, taking the lead in many work-packages and providing overall programme management.

Many staff at the Centre are internationally renowned experts in their field and often provide advice and consultancies for the World Health Organisation and other international agencies. The Centre also houses many WHO Collaborating Centres (see below), the WHO Reference Laboratories for various infections (see below) and is the European Co-ordinating Centre for the Global Programme on Drug Resistant Tuberculosis.

• HPA activities in International Projects

World Health Organisation Activities at CfI:

WHO Collaborating Centre for:

• Laboratory and Diagnostic Support (Virology) 
• Typing and Drug Resistance of Enterobacteria
• Diptheria and Streptococcal Infections
• Virus Reference and Research (Special Pathogens)
• Haemophilus Influenzae

WHO Global Reference Laboratory for:

• Measles
• HIV Drug Resistance
• Rubella

WHO National Specialised Laboratory for:

• Staphylococci
• Nosocomial infections
• Influenza
• Polio
• SARS
• Tuberculosis