Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of trends in the incidence of norovirus in the last five years; and what recent steps he has taken to tackle outbreaks of norovirus.

Public Health England (PHE) carries out norovirus surveillance. As norovirus activity varies from season-to-season it is not possible to predict how each season will progress and it is therefore most appropriate to use the five season average for comparison. The level of norovirus activity was lower than average during the 2015/16 season. The number of laboratory reports of norovirus in this season (since week 27 2016) is 3,189. This is 7% higher than the average number for the same period in the five seasons from season 2011/12 to season 2015/16 (2,988), and 71% higher than the same weeks last season.

Five-season comparison of laboratory reports of norovirus in England and Wales

Note:

*Seasonal figures presented in the table refer to the number of laboratory reports, as reported to PHE, for week 27 of the first year to week two of the following year.

Steps on tackling outbreaks of norovirus are a local responsibility and National Health Service trusts have local systems and processes in place to prevent and manage outbreaks. At a national level norovirus is included in the Operating Pressures Escalation Level Framework across trusts to provide a consistent approach and maintain quality and patient safety.