Communicable disease outbreak management: operational guidance
Roles and responsibilities of key agencies and the agreed procedures during local and national outbreak investigations.
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There have been significant organisational changes to the management of outbreaks of communicable diseases since the publication of this document in 2014. To ensure the guidance reflects current organisational structures the document has been updated as interim guidance with a more detailed review to be undertaken during 2024.
This interim document provides operational guidance for the management of outbreaks of communicable disease in England for all parts of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). It is also to be used by organisations with responsibility for health protection and delivery of health protection response. This guidance provides a framework for working across public health structures in local authorities, integrated care systems, NHS England and other relevant bodies and is for use in outbreak management both locally and nationally. It has been developed in association with the Association of Directors of Public Health, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and the Food Standards Agency, along with many individuals sharing their expertise.
This guidance can also support integrated care systems, NHS England regional teams and local authorities by ensuring that commissioned services have robust plans in place to respond to an outbreak. It may also inform local health resilience partnership (LHRP) emergency preparedness resilience and response (EPRR) plans.
Updates to this page
Published 12 August 2014Last updated 21 December 2023 + show all updates
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Updated guidance.
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First published.