REHIS News

Two patients have died after contracting a fungal infection linked to pigeon droppings at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

The individuals are thought have caught the airborne disease at the hospital after inhaling the fungus cryptococcus, typically found in soil and pigeon droppings.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) has launched an investigation into the outbreak. It said the likely source of the pigeon droppings was a non-public room, thought to contain machinery, which has now been cleaned.

The majority of Scots support action to reduce the levels of sugar, fat and salt in food, according to the latest Scottish Social Attitudes (SSA) survey.

Findings from the survey “Public attitudes to reducing levels of overweight and obesity in Scotland” found the majority (91%) thought cheap fast food was too easily accessible. 

Earlier this week, on the 14 January 2019, the UK Government published its Clean Air Strategy, outlining how England will set out reducing the prevalence of harmful air pollutants.

Several restaurants listed on the food delivery app Just Eat have been providing incorrect information concerning food allergens, a BBC Panorama investigation has discovered.

The research, also found that over 100 restaurants listed on the app had a food hygiene rating of zero, despite some being promoted by Just Eat as a “local legend”. 

Just Eat does not require restaurants to provide any allergen information on their app or website. Customers are expected to contact the restaurants directly to directly to find out allergen information.

Abattoirs will need to install CCTV cameras in all areas where there are live animals are present under new legislation to be introduced by the Scottish Government.

It has pledged to bring forward legislation later in the year.

This is intended to ensure the highest standards of animal welfare in abattoirs, by helping those responsible for enforcing welfare legislation.

The proposal was backed by the vast majority of respondents to a recent consultation carried out by the Scottish Government.

Environment secretary Michael Gove has launched draft legislation to set up an independent environmental watchdog which will “hold government and public bodies to account” after Brexit.

Under the environment bill, the independent statutory body Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) will be created to safeguard environmental standard.

This will include taking on legal powers of enforcement instead of the European Commission.

Scotland's first low-emission zone (LEZ) was introduced in Glasgow on 31 December 2018.

The first phase of the LEZ will set emission standards which must be met by 20% of buses which pass through the city centre. It means local bus services must comply with European emissions standards.

Phase Two will come into effect in December 2022 and will apply to all vehicles entering the zone. The scheme is being enforced by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR).

Glasgow’s LEZ will eventually adopt the following emission standards:

REHIS, as part of the Scottish Food Enforcement Liaison Committee (SFELC) has endorsed guidance produced by SFELC’s Joint Specialist Cheese & Risky Foods Short-Life Working Group on the production of cheese from unpasteurised milk. 

The guidance is the output of thousands of hours of work focussed on controlling the microbiological risks in the production of artisan cheeses made from unpasteurised milk, specifically Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) including E coli O157.  

The World Health Organization (WHO) has published new guidelines which bring together the most recent evidence to provide practical recommendations to reduce the health burden due to unsafe and substandard housing.

The guidelines provide new evidence-based recommendations on how to reduce major health risks associated with poor housing conditions in 4 areas:
• Inadequate living space (crowding)
• Low and high indoor temperatures
• Injury hazards in the home
• Accessibility of housing for people with functional impairments.

The Scottish Health Protection Network (SHPN) has issued new guidance, replacing the 2013 Guidance for the Public Health Management of Infection with Verotoxigenic Escherichia coli, which is designed to support the development of those arrangements and assist in response to E. coli cases by health protection teams, environmental health departments and other stakeholders. It is also part of a suite of materials that has been produced in parallel with, and it should be used alongside, the ‘Scottish STEC Enhanced Surveillance Form’.