Faculty of Health Sciences

SARS-CoV-2 transmission model suggests primary school infection could be greater this autumn than in 2020

13 September 2021

The SARS-CoV-2 epidemic has already had a major impact on children's education, with schools having been required to implement infection control measures that have led to long periods of absence and classroom closures. With the new school year underway, risk modelling specialists at the University of Bristol have developed a new epidemiological model for SARS-CoV-2 transmission that forecasts primary school infection outbreaks could be more frequent and possibly substantially larger this autumn than in 2020, due to the more transmissive and infectious Delta variant and projected increase in community infection.

New guidance published to help GPs interpret Lateral Flow Device test results

2 July 2021

New guidance for GPs and other health professionals on how to interpret and communicate results from Lateral Flow Device (LFDs) tests based on the current understanding of the tests’ performance is published in the BMJ. Researchers from the Universities of Bristol, Cambridge, and Trinity College Dublin have devised a calculator which aims to help doctors, who are increasingly asked by patients what they should do after receiving their results, to better advise patients on what their LFD test result means.

Friends and family found creative ways to support women experiencing domestic abuse during COVID-19

29 June 2021

In usual times, women experiencing domestic abuse reach out to those around them for support, but the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated social restrictions have made this more difficult to do. New research has found friends, family, neighbours and colleagues (informal supporters) used creative ways to keep in touch with and to continue offering support domestic abuse survivors.

New hypothesis proposed for how chlamydia might increase cancer and ectopic pregnancy risk

16 August 2021

A review of evidence by researchers at the University of Bristol and University of Edinburgh has suggested a possible new means by which chlamydia could lead to an increased risk of cancer and ectopic pregnancy. The hypothesis also provides a possible explanation for how pelvic inflammatory disease may be triggered in some women.

£1.5 million to research the role of genes and specific cell-types in Alzheimer’s disease

10 September 2021

Research that will for the first time examine changes in how genes function in specific brain cell-types to better understand the development of Alzheimer’s disease has received a £1.5 million grant from the Medical Research Council.

Fat matters more than muscle for heart health, research finds

9 September 2021

New research has found that changes in body fat impact early markers of heart health more than changes in body muscle, suggesting there are greater benefits to be expected from losing fat than from gaining muscle.

Scientists reveal blueprint for getting hepatitis C treatment to people who inject drugs

11 August 2021

Scientists have revealed a new method of delivering hepatitis C testing and treatment to people who inject drugs which will help bring the world a step closer to eliminating the virus.

Interventions for reducing hepatitis C infection in people who inject drugs

26 September 2017

The first global review to quantify the impact of needle syringe programmes (NSP) and opioid substitution treatment (OST) in reducing the risk of becoming infected with the hepatitis C virus is published in Cochrane Library Drug and Alcohol Review Group and the journal Addiction. The study, has implications for millions of people who are 'at risk' from infection.

Prestigious Diana Award for doctor putting diet on the medical curriculum

28 June 2021

A newly qualified doctor leading a campaign to get diet and nutrition on the medical curriculum has been honoured with a prestigious Diana Award.

New multi-million-pound research consortium aims to reduce harms caused by violence

29 July 2021

A new multi-million-pound research project that will provide world-leading data on violence coincides with the launch of a new consortium which aims to reduce harms caused by violence.