High Consequence Infectious Diseases

High consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs) include a variety of acute infectious diseases typically defined by the following criteria (as outlined by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA):

• They typically have a high case-fatality rate
• There may not be effective prophylaxis or treatment
• They are often difficult to recognise and detect rapidly
• They are able to spread in the community and within healthcare settings
• They require an enhanced individual, population and system response to ensure they are managed effectively, efficiently and safely.

Examples of HCIDs include the following (note, this is not an exhaustive list):

• Viral haemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola Virus Disease, Marburg Virus Disease, Lassa fever and other arena viruses, Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic fever.
• Mpox Clade I
• Highly pathogenic avian influenza
• Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
• Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)
• Pneumonic plague

Videos showing how to safely put on and take off PPE for HCIDs are available here.