Childhood infections: migrant health guide
Advice and guidance on the health needs of migrant patients for healthcare practitioners.
Main messages
Children and young people who migrate to the UK may be at increased risk of certain infections.
Healthcare practitioners should:
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ensure that children and young people are up to date with the UK immunisation schedule - refer to the immunisations guidance in the migrant health guide for further advice
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follow national guidelines to prevent the spread of infection in early years and education settings and report statutorily notifiable diseases
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refer to the migrant health guide pages for more guidance on assessing migrant patients, children’s health and visiting friends and relatives abroad
Background
Children and young people include:
- those aged 0 to 18 years (as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child)
- those aged 19 to 25 years with an education, health and care plan (EHCP)
An education, health and care plan is for children and young people who need more support than is available through the standard special educational needs provision. This includes those in:
- Ofsted registered childcare
- early years and education settings
- children’s homes
- temporary settings for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children
It also includes those living in closed settings such as:
- young offender institutions
- secure children’s homes
- secure training centres
- secure schools
Some serious childhood infections in the UK are vaccine preventable. See WHO for country-specific information..
Healthcare practitioners should ensure that migrant children are up to date with the UK immunisation schedule and refer to the immunisation algorithm for advice on immunising individuals with uncertain or incomplete immunisation status.
Many of the descriptions and images used to describe and demonstrate typical rashes associated with childhood infections are based on their appearance in white skin. Be aware that they may look different in darker skin tones or pigmented skin.
Help to prevent the spread of infection by giving advice in accordance with infection control guidelines for schools and childcare facilities.
Be aware that many childhood infections are statutorily notifiable. You can refer to the full list of notifiable diseases but some examples include:
Childhood diseases that are part of the UK immunisation schedule include:
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chicken pox (chickenpox vaccination programme), to be launched in England as part of the routine infant vaccination schedule from January 2026 (measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV))
- Haemophilus influenza type B
- hepatitis B
- HPV
- measles
- meningococcal disease (meningococcal groups A, B, C, W and Y)
- mumps
- pertussis (whooping cough)
- pneumococcal disease
- polio
- rotavirus
- tetanus
Other childhood diseases (not covered under standard UK immunisation schedule):
- athlete’s foot (Tinea pedis)
- chlamydia
- cold sores
- conjunctivitis
- cryptosporidiosis
- diarrhoea and vomiting (gastroenteritis)
- E. coli STEC (Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli))
- food poisoning
- genital herpes
- giardiasis
- glandular fever
- gonorrhoea
- group A Streptococcus (GAS)
- hand, foot and mouth disease
- head lice
- hepatitis A
- hepatitis C
- HIV
- impetigo
- invasive Group A Streptococcus (iGAS)
- MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)
- mpox
- norovirus
- Panton-Valentine Leukocidin Staphylococcus aureus (PVL-SA)
- respiratory infections, including coronavirus (COVID-19)
- ringworm
- scabies
- scarlet fever
- slapped cheek syndrome (parvovirus B19)
- Syphilis
- threadworm
- tuberculosis (TB)
- typhoid and paratyphoid fever
See national guidance for:
Updates to this page
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Rewritten for clarity and update to links.
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Rebranded page to UKHSA. No change to content.
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Updated links to immunisation guidance.
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First published.