Some Highlights from 2005/06
April
Health Protection Agency marks its second anniversary with Donaldson lecture by Zsuzsanna Jakab, Director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
London MMR catch-up campaign is launched: Agency provides advice and support for the initiative to vaccinate thousands of the capital's school children against measles, mumps and rubella.
First of seven outbreaks of Salmonella Enteritidis infection detected and investigated by the Agency in the North East. The infection is discovered to be associated with the use of raw eggs in catering premises or the consumption of dishes containing egg.
May
Clostridium difficile outbreak at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Buckinghamshire: 300 cases and several deaths are attributed to two outbreaks of the healthcare-associated infection. T he local Health Protection Unit provides advice and support.
Health Protection Agency publishes the UK 's first recovery handbook for radiation incidents.
Health Protection Agency publishes its first national report on the status of the UK 's universal vaccine programmes, including details about the Agency's role in the control of vaccine-preventable diseases and its research work.
June
Exercise Arctic Sea - East Midlands the Agency runs the first of a series of regional pandemic influenza exercises. Several planning initiatives are set up to prepare for pandemic influenza as a result.
Agency publishes a report on nuclear medicine practice in the UK and the associated radiation exposure of the population.
Agency starts its annual enhanced surveillance programme for human cases of West Nile virus infection acquired in the UK .
July
London awarded 2012 Olympics: the Agency contributed to the health component of the bid. It will now work with partner organisations to take plans to the next stage of development.
London bombings: the London regional office and health protection units are involved in the response to the tragic events in the capital on 7July. Following the bombings, local and regional teams provide health protection advice to emergency responder colleagues and members of the public. The Agency is also involved in a follow-up study into health effects.
The Agency in the South East undertakes the first of a number of mapping exercise of tuberculosis services in the region to improve future planning of provisions.
August
Health Protection Agency enters into a licensing agreement with the pharmaceuticals group OPi to re-launch the life-saving leukaemia treatment Erwinase.
September
Third Health Protection Agency Annual Conference at Warwick University
Study into the link between environmental contamination and adverse health effects launched by the Agency, following a successful trial in the West Midlands .
The Agency reports an increase in cases of Listeria over the past five years and that the trend is continuing.
October
The first confirmed case of avian influenza (H5N1) in a bird in England occurs in an Essex quarantine centre. Local Health Protection Agency staff reassure the public that the risk to human health is low.
Launch of radon initiative in North Northumberland to encourage 1500 householders to take up the offer of free testing in their homes.
The Agency publishes Health Protection in the 21st Century - Understanding the Burden of Disease; preparing for the future. This is the first study to attempt to identify and quantify the burden of disease across the broader health protection spectrum, from infections to environmental hazards.
The Agency publishes Providing the Evidence Base for Public Health
The Health Protection Agency's Research Strategy 2005/10 which outlines the main functions and unique R&D capabilities of the Agency and a framework to guide the Agency and partner organisations on productive areas for Research and Development.
November
Health Protection Agency wins online training award for one of its e-learning programmes at the E-Learning Awards 2005. The programme, called Incident Management , was developed in partnership with Doctors.net, to train doctors to respond to a major incident.
The Health Protection Agency sets up a new company, Syntaxin Ltd, to develop the commercial potential of part of its technology programme.
Major measles outbreak in Doncaster : Health Protection Agency works with local health teams to increase MMR uptake.
Annual report on HIV and sexually transmitted infections published by the Agency: it shows that 58,300 people are living with HIV in the UK .
The Department of Health announces that the Agency will be taking over the management of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme
December
Buncefield fire : an explosion at an oil depot in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, causes the largest fire in the UK since the World War Two. The Health Protection Agency forms part of the emergency response service and is involved in the on-going follow up studies.
Health Protection Agency hosts its International Conference on Chemical Hazards, Poisons and Sustainable Communities in Cardiff .
First report on the burden of hepatitis C in the UK is published by the Agency. The Report estimates that 4,500 people in the UK are living with severe liver disease.
January
Human cases of avian influenza (H5N1) in Turkey announced, resulting in four deaths. The Health Protection Agency is involved in the European response to this outbreak.
Health Protection Agency is one of the founding members of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes. The association is primarily concerned with improvement of public health capacity across the world, through service, research and training.
Exercise Frome: Health Protection Agency takes part in an exercise examining responses to a civil nuclear incident.
HPA Business Development team secures two sources of funding opportunities from awards issued by the Department of Trade and Industry Office of Science and Technology; the InterAct Proof of Concept fund and membership of the Rainbow Seed fund.
February
Simultaneous increase in seasonal activity of influenza B and norovirus: Health Protection Agency issues advice on the control and spread of the infections.
Health Protection Agency identifies that a third person has developed variant Creutzfeldt -Jakob disease (vCJD) after receiving a blood transfusion.
March
Health Protection Agency issues guidance on spa pools, advising commercial and domestic owners about the risks of infections if they are not maintained properly.
The Agency's network of laboratories introduces technology to enable better identification of the different strains of the bacteria that cause tuberculosis.
A serious fire in Poole causes power lines to melt and 100,000 homes lose power: the local Health Protection Unit gives advice on possible health risks from the smoke plume.
Collaborative work between the Health Protection Agency and a commercial partner, Genencor International, leads to the development and launch of PrionzymeT – a product that can destroy the prion proteins generally agreed to cause variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).
Mass vaccination exercise held in Bolton , Greater Manchester: Health Protection Agency works with the health community to test plans for vaccinating large numbers of the public during an influenza pandemic.
