General bacterial, protozoal and viral outbreaks of infectious intestinal disease in Scotland, 2019

On 14 July 2020, Health Protection Scotland (HPS), part of Public Health Scotland (PHS), published its annual surveillance report describing general bacterial, protozoal and viral outbreaks of infectious intestinal disease reported in Scotland in 2019.

In 2019, there were 11 general outbreaks of infectious intestinal disease reported to PHS, a slight reduction on the 14 outbreaks reported in 2018, but in-line with the previous five-year average of 13 outbreaks per year. Salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) were the most frequently reported organisms. Across all outbreaks, 49 people were reported to have fallen ill in Scotland during 2019.