Syndromic surveillance summary: 21 March 2024 week 11
Updated 25 April 2024
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Reporting week 11: 11 March to 17 March
During week 11 there were further increases observed across syndromic respiratory indicators including GP consultations for upper and lower respiratory tract infections and ED attendances and GP out-of-hours contacts for acute respiratory infections. Increases continued to be particularly seen in children aged 5 to 14 years. ED pneumonia attendances were stable however they continue to remain at above seasonally expected levels, particularly in the 5 to 14 and 15 to 44 years age groups. There were further increases reported in syndromic indicators for scarlet fever, measles and whooping cough.
Remote health advice syndromic surveillance system
During week 11 there were increases across a number of respiratory indicators particularly in children aged 5 to14 years. Of note, there were increases observed in NHS 111 online assessments for cold/flu and fever, but they remain similar to seasonally expected levels. Online assessments for cough, sore throat and difficulty breathing also increased and are currently above baseline.
Please note that a further update to the NHS Pathways clinical system used by NHS 111 has affected NHS 111 cold, flu and cough calls, particularly calls in children and selected regions. Cold, flu and cough call data presented in this report should therefore currently be interpreted with caution. Please see ‘Notes and Caveats’ for further information.
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GP in-hours syndromic surveillance system
During week 11, GP in-hours consultations for upper and lower respiratory tract infections continued to increase with increases particularly observed in children aged 5 to 14 years. Pneumonia consultations were stable however they remain above expected levels. There were further increases observed in pharyngitis and scarlet fever consultations in children aged 1 to 4 and 5 to 14 years. Measles and whooping cough consultations continued to increase during week 11 and both remain above expected levels.
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GP out-of-hours syndromic surveillance system
During week 11, total GP out-of-hours contacts remained stable overall but there were increases observed in children aged 5 to 14 years. Contacts for acute respiratory infection and difficulty breathing/wheeze/asthma increased.
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Emergency department syndromic surveillance system
During week 11, ED attendances for acute respiratory infections continued to increase and remain above seasonally expected levels. Increases were mainly observed in children aged 5 to 14 years. Pneumonia attendances remained stable nationally but persist at above seasonally expected levels and are still particularly elevated in the 5 to 14 and 15 to 44 years age groups. Scarlet fever attendances continued to increase in children aged 1 to 4 and 5 to 14 years and remain above seasonally expected levels.
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Ambulance syndromic surveillance system
During week 11, daily difficulty breathing calls increased and are above expected levels. Calls for ‘cardiac or respiratory arrest’, headache, allergic reactions and ‘overdose or ingestion or poisoning’ also increased over the past week, but each are within expected levels.