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52-655: The Health Protection Agency ( HPA ) was a non-departmental public body in England . It was set up by the UK government in 2003 to protect the public from threats to their health from infectious diseases and environmental hazards. The HPA's role was to provide an integrated approach to protecting public health in the UK. It did this by providing advice and information to the general public, health professionals and local government, and by providing emergency services, support and advice to

104-674: A non-ministerial government department being at a remove from both ministers and any elected assembly or parliament. Typically an NDPB would be established under statute and be accountable to Parliament rather than to His Majesty's Government . This arrangement allows more financial independence since the government is obliged to provide funding to meet statutory obligations. NDPBs are sometimes referred to as quangos . However, this term originally referred to quasi-NGOs bodies that are, at least ostensibly, non-government organisations , but nonetheless perform governmental functions. The backronym "quasi-autonomous national government organization"

156-436: A biological science. One of his students, Adrien Certes, is considered the founder of marine microbiology. Pasteur also designed methods for food preservation ( pasteurization ) and vaccines against several diseases such as anthrax , fowl cholera and rabies . Koch is best known for his contributions to the germ theory of disease , proving that specific diseases were caused by specific pathogenic microorganisms. He developed

208-400: A fifth category: NHS bodies . These bodies consist of boards which advise ministers on particular policy areas. They are often supported by a small secretariat from the parent department, and any expenditure is paid for by that department. These bodies usually deliver a particular public service and are overseen by a board rather than ministers. Appointments are made by ministers following

260-545: A new National Epidemiology Service. Combining these services into one grouping was intended to facilitate and reinforce close team working among those with skills relevant to delivering effective and consistent responses to significant health protection threats. LaRS provided support to the front line response by coordinating services at the regional and local level. It was a source of specialist advice and operational support, and it contributed actively to policy making and implementation in partnership with other HPA divisions and with

312-469: A series of criteria that have become known as the Koch's postulates . Koch was one of the first scientists to focus on the isolation of bacteria in pure culture resulting in his description of several novel bacteria including Mycobacterium tuberculosis , the causative agent of tuberculosis . While Pasteur and Koch are often considered the founders of microbiology, their work did not accurately reflect

364-472: A very short life, said to pervade every part of the universe, even in tissues of plants and flesh of animals. The Roman Marcus Terentius Varro made references to microbes when he warned against locating a homestead in the vicinity of swamps "because there are bred certain minute creatures which cannot be seen by the eyes, which float in the air and enter the body through the mouth and nose and thereby cause serious diseases." Persian scientists hypothesized

416-523: A wide range of scientific disciplines. In April 2013, the NIBSC left the HPA and was merged with the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency . The Health Protection Agency Annual Conference, which was attended by approximately one thousand health professionals and scientists to promote scientific excellence and best practice in health protection and emergency planning, brought together experts from

468-627: A wide variety of disciplines to share knowledge of the latest scientific research and developments. The conference continued after 2013 as the "Public Health England Annual Conference". 51°35′38″N 0°15′14″W  /  51.5940°N 0.2538°W  / 51.5940; -0.2538 Non-departmental public body The term includes the four types of NDPB (executive, advisory, tribunal, and independent monitoring boards) but excludes public corporations and public broadcasters ( BBC , Channel 4 , and S4C ). The UK Government classifies bodies into four main types. The Scottish Government also has

520-420: Is considered a father of microbiology as he used simple single-lensed microscopes of his own design. While Van Leeuwenhoek is often cited as the first to observe microbes, Robert Hooke made his first recorded microscopic observation, of the fruiting bodies of moulds , in 1665. It has, however, been suggested that a Jesuit priest called Athanasius Kircher was the first to observe microorganisms. Kircher

572-678: Is the scientific study of microorganisms , those being of unicellular (single-celled), multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology , bacteriology , protistology , mycology , immunology , and parasitology . Eukaryotic microorganisms possess membrane-bound organelles and include fungi and protists , whereas prokaryotic organisms—all of which are microorganisms—are conventionally classified as lacking membrane-bound organelles and include Bacteria and Archaea . Microbiologists traditionally relied on culture, staining, and microscopy for

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624-451: Is the case with bacteriology , mycology , protozoology , virology , phycology , and microbial ecology . There is considerable overlap between the specific branches of microbiology with each other and with other disciplines, and certain aspects of these branches can extend beyond the traditional scope of microbiology A pure research branch of microbiology is termed cellular microbiology . While some people have fear of microbes due to

676-516: Is used in this usage which is normally pejorative. In March 2009 there were nearly 800 public bodies that were sponsored by the UK Government. This total included 198 executive NDPBs, 410 advisory bodies, 33 tribunals, 21 public corporations, the Bank of England , 2 public broadcasting authorities and 23 NHS bodies. However, the classification is conservative and does not include bodies that are

728-644: The Conservatives' complacency in power in the 1990s, presented much material interpreted as evidence of questionable government practices. This concern led to the formation of a Committee on Standards in Public Life (the Nolan Committee) which first reported in 1995 and recommended the creation of a "public appointments commissioner" to make sure that appropriate standards were met in the appointment of members of NDPBs. The Government accepted

780-930: The National Health Service (NHS) and the Department of Health. The HPA also played a lead role in helping prepare for new and emerging health threats, such as bioterrorism or emerging virulent disease strains. There were four HPA centres – at Porton Down in Salisbury, Chilton in Oxfordshire, South Mimms in Hertfordshire, and Colindale in NW London. In addition, the HPA had regional laboratories across England and administrative headquarters in Central London. On 1 April 2013,

832-675: The Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS). In April 1994, CAMR moved from PHLS centre to the Microbiological Research Authority (MRA), reporting to the Department of Health and continuing the programme in civil microbiological research started in 1979. Microbiology Services remained the biggest of the four Divisions within the HPA with 1800 staff, consisting of laboratory groups from the Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response,

884-433: The tobacco mosaic virus established the basic principles of virology, it was his development of enrichment culturing that had the most immediate impact on microbiology by allowing for the cultivation of a wide range of microbes with wildly different physiologies. Winogradsky was the first to develop the concept of chemolithotrophy and to thereby reveal the essential role played by microorganisms in geochemical processes. He

936-443: The yeast two-hybrid system . Bacteria can be used for the industrial production of amino acids . organic acids , vitamin , proteins , antibiotics and other commercially used metabolites which are produced by microorganisms. Corynebacterium glutamicum is one of the most important bacterial species with an annual production of more than two million tons of amino acids, mainly L-glutamate and L-lysine. Since some bacteria have

988-674: The Agency became a non-departmental public body , with the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) being merged into the organisation at the same time. The origins of the HPA's largest facility in Porton Down can be traced back to 1940, when Porton had a highly secret and independent 'Biology Department' under the Ministry of Defence to study biological warfare and defence against it. By 1946 it

1040-400: The Centre for Infections, eight regional microbiology laboratories and 37 collaborating hospital laboratories. Together, these laboratories provided frontline diagnostic and public health microbiology services to NHS trusts and HPA health protection units. Its remit included infectious disease surveillance, providing specialist and reference microbiology and microbial epidemiology, coordinating

1092-401: The Centre manufactured a number of healthcare products, including vaccines and therapeutics. Internationally recognised as a world leader in microbiology research and testing, HPA's Porton Down Centre worked with foreign governments, international biotechnology and pharmaceutical corporations, and start-up and spin-out companies. The strategic goal of the Centre was "to build on and develop

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1144-647: The Code of Practice of the Commissioner for Public Appointments . They employ their own staff and allocate their own budgets. These bodies have jurisdiction over an area of the law . They are coordinated by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service , an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice , and supervised by the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council , itself an NDPB sponsored by

1196-614: The HPA minus the South Mimms site became part of Public Health England , a new executive agency of the Department of Health (DoH). The National Institute for Biological Standards and Control ( NIBSC ) located in South Mimms was merged with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The Health Protection Agency (HPA) was originally established as an NHS special health authority in 2003. On 1 April 2005,

1248-616: The HPA was organised into four groups: Microbiology Services, Health Protection Services, Biological Standards and Control, and the Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards. The Division included laboratory groups from the Centre for Infections, Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response, the Regional Microbiology Network and their associated supports. The remit of the Centre included infectious disease surveillance, providing specialist and reference microbiology and microbial epidemiology, coordinating

1300-546: The Jesuit priest Athanasius Kircher was likely the first to see microbes, which he mentioned observing in milk and putrid material in 1658. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek is considered a father of microbiology as he observed and experimented with microscopic organisms in the 1670s, using simple microscopes of his design. Scientific microbiology developed in the 19th century through the work of Louis Pasteur and in medical microbiology Robert Koch . The existence of microorganisms

1352-500: The Ministry of Justice. These bodies were formerly known as "boards of visitors" and are responsible for the state of prisons, their administration, and the treatment of prisoners. The Home Office is responsible for their costs and has to note all expenses. NDPB differ from executive agencies as they are not created to carry out ministerial orders or policy, instead they are more or less self-determining and enjoy greater independence. They are also not directly part of government like

1404-752: The NHS, local authorities and other agencies. The Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards comprised the Radiation Protection Division (formerly the National Radiological Protection Board) and the Chemical Hazards and Poisons Division. The base for the Centre was in Chilton, Oxfordshire. The National Institute for Biological Standards and Control's (NIBSC) mission was to assure

1456-503: The Plague) in 1658, stating correctly that the disease was caused by microbes, though what he saw was most likely red or white blood cells rather than the plague agent itself. The field of bacteriology (later a subdiscipline of microbiology) was founded in the 19th century by Ferdinand Cohn , a botanist whose studies on algae and photosynthetic bacteria led him to describe several bacteria including Bacillus and Beggiatoa . Cohn

1508-747: The UK's Conservative-Liberal coalition published a review of NDPBs recommending closure or merger of nearly two hundred bodies, and the transfer of others to the private sector. This process was colloquially termed the "bonfire of the quangos". NDPBs are classified under code S.13112 of the European System of Accounts (ESA.95). However, Statistics UK does not break out the detail for these bodies and they are consolidated into General Government (S.1311). Microbiology Microbiology (from Ancient Greek μῑκρος ( mīkros )  'small' βίος ( bíos )  ' life ' and -λογία ( -logía )  'study of')

1560-624: The UK. HPA was accountable to the UK Secretary of State for Health , and was funded primarily by Government Grant in Aid. Other income was received from the NHS, commercial activities, grants, and other sources. HPA’s income for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2008, was £160.2 million from Revenue Government financing plus £109.2 million total operating income. Total average staff numbers for that year, including secondments and agency staff, were 3,394 staff. Following consultation during April 2010,

1612-475: The UK. According to the Cabinet Office their total expenditure for the financial year 2005–06 was £167 billion. As of March 2020, there were 237 non-departmental public bodies. Critics argued that the system was open to abuse as most NDPBs had their members directly appointed by government ministers without an election or consultation with the people. The press , critical of what was perceived as

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1664-493: The ability to synthesize antibiotics, they are used for medicinal purposes, such as Streptomyces to make aminoglycoside antibiotics . A variety of biopolymers , such as polysaccharides , polyesters , and polyamides , are produced by microorganisms. Microorganisms are used for the biotechnological production of biopolymers with tailored properties suitable for high-value medical application such as tissue engineering and drug delivery. Microorganisms are for example used for

1716-584: The association of some microbes with various human diseases, many microbes are also responsible for numerous beneficial processes such as industrial fermentation (e.g. the production of alcohol , vinegar and dairy products ), antibiotic production can act as molecular vehicles to transfer DNA to complex organisms such as plants and animals. Scientists have also exploited their knowledge of microbes to produce biotechnologically important enzymes such as Taq polymerase , reporter genes for use in other genetic systems and novel molecular biology techniques such as

1768-477: The biosynthesis of xanthan , alginate , cellulose , cyanophycin , poly(gamma-glutamic acid), levan , hyaluronic acid , organic acids, oligosaccharides polysaccharide and polyhydroxyalkanoates. Microorganisms are beneficial for microbial biodegradation or bioremediation of domestic, agricultural and industrial wastes and subsurface pollution in soils, sediments and marine environments. The ability of each microorganism to degrade toxic waste depends on

1820-549: The clinical effects traced to them were originally presumed due to chronic viral infections, virologists took a search—discovering "infectious proteins". The existence of microorganisms was predicted many centuries before they were first observed, for example by the Jains in India and by Marcus Terentius Varro in ancient Rome. The first recorded microscope observation was of the fruiting bodies of moulds, by Robert Hooke in 1666, but

1872-564: The digestive system) or prebiotics (substances consumed to promote the growth of probiotic microorganisms). The ways the microbiome influences human and animal health, as well as methods to influence the microbiome are active areas of research. Research has suggested that microorganisms could be useful in the treatment of cancer . Various strains of non-pathogenic clostridia can infiltrate and replicate within solid tumors . Clostridial vectors can be safely administered and their potential to deliver therapeutic proteins has been demonstrated in

1924-497: The existence of microorganisms, such as Avicenna in his book The Canon of Medicine , Ibn Zuhr (also known as Avenzoar) who discovered scabies mites, and Al-Razi who gave the earliest known description of smallpox in his book The Virtuous Life (al-Hawi). The tenth-century Taoist Baoshengjing describes "countless micro organic worms" which resemble vegetable seeds, which prompted Dutch sinologist Kristofer Schipper to claim that "the existence of harmful bacteria

1976-739: The intellectual assets of the organisation in partnership with industry." Areas of expertise include: bacterial vaccines , toxin therapeutics, Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and in-vivo testing of compounds, biodefence and biosafety testing, diagnostics, and the provision of cell cultures. The Regional Microbiology Network was composed of eight regional microbiology laboratories. In addition, 37 hospital microbiology laboratories participated as HPA collaborating laboratories. Together, these laboratories provided frontline diagnostic and public health microbiology services to NHS trusts and HPA health protection units. This Division comprised two nationally organised services, each with their own head: LaRS and

2028-458: The investigation and cause of national and uncommon outbreaks, helping advise government on the risks posed by various infections and responding to international health alerts. The Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response prepared for and coordinated responses to potential healthcare emergencies, including possible acts of deliberate release. In addition, both basic and applied research were undertaken into understanding infectious diseases and

2080-449: The investigation and cause of national and uncommon outbreaks, helping advise government on the risks posed by various infections and responding to international health alerts. In addition, both basic and applied research was undertaken to understand infectious diseases, and the group manufactured a number of healthcare products including vaccines and therapeutics. For instance, the HPA was the sole licensed manufacturer of anthrax vaccine in

2132-643: The isolation and identification of microorganisms. However, less than 1% of the microorganisms present in common environments can be cultured in isolation using current means. With the emergence of biotechnology , Microbiologists currently rely on molecular biology tools such as DNA sequence-based identification, for example, the 16S rRNA gene sequence used for bacterial identification. Viruses have been variably classified as organisms because they have been considered either very simple microorganisms or very complex molecules. Prions , never considered microorganisms, have been investigated by virologists; however, as

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2184-595: The nature of each contaminant . Since sites typically have multiple pollutant types, the most effective approach to microbial biodegradation is to use a mixture of bacterial and fungal species and strains, each specific to the biodegradation of one or more types of contaminants. Symbiotic microbial communities confer benefits to their human and animal hosts health including aiding digestion, producing beneficial vitamins and amino acids, and suppressing pathogenic microbes. Some benefit may be conferred by eating fermented foods, probiotics (bacteria potentially beneficial to

2236-491: The quality of biological medicines. At the heart of the work was the preparation, storage and worldwide distribution of World Health Organization international standards and reference materials to provide benchmarks for product quality. In addition NIBSC provided testing services as the UK's Official Medicines Control Laboratory to ensure compliance with product specifications. These activities and advice provided by NIBSC were underpinned by leading edge scientific research covering

2288-686: The recommendation, and the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments was established in November 1995. While in opposition, the Labour Party promised to reduce the number and power of NDPBs. The use of NDPBs continued under the Labour government in office from 1997 to 2010, though the political controversy associated with NDPBs in the mid-1990s for the most part died away. In 2010

2340-546: The responsibility of devolved government , various lower tier boards (including a considerable number within the NHS), and also other boards operating in the public sector (e.g. school governors and police authorities). These appointed bodies performed a large variety of tasks, for example health trusts , or the Welsh Development Agency , and by 1992 were responsible for some 25% of all government expenditure in

2392-439: The true diversity of the microbial world because of their exclusive focus on microorganisms having direct medical relevance. It was not until the late 19th century and the work of Martinus Beijerinck and Sergei Winogradsky that the true breadth of microbiology was revealed. Beijerinck made two major contributions to microbiology: the discovery of viruses and the development of enrichment culture techniques. While his work on

2444-545: Was known to the Chinese of the time." In 1546, Girolamo Fracastoro proposed that epidemic diseases were caused by transferable seedlike entities that could transmit infection by direct or indirect contact, or vehicle transmission. In 1676, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek , who lived most of his life in Delft , Netherlands, observed bacteria and other microorganisms using a single-lens microscope of his own design . He

2496-470: Was also the first to formulate a scheme for the taxonomic classification of bacteria, and to discover endospores . Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch were contemporaries of Cohn, and are often considered to be the fathers of modern microbiology and medical microbiology , respectively. Pasteur is most famous for his series of experiments designed to disprove the then widely held theory of spontaneous generation , thereby solidifying microbiology's identity as

2548-464: Was among the first to design magic lanterns for projection purposes, and so he was well acquainted with the properties of lenses. He wrote "Concerning the wonderful structure of things in nature, investigated by Microscope" in 1646, stating "who would believe that vinegar and milk abound with an innumerable multitude of worms." He also noted that putrid material is full of innumerable creeping animalcules. He published his Scrutinium Pestis (Examination of

2600-503: Was called the 'Microbiological Research Department', and from 1951 the 'Microbiological Research Establishment', with research becoming increasingly defensive and civilian in nature. Total civilian control was established by moving biological defence work to the Chemical Defence Establishment (now dstl ), and renaming the facility from 1 April 1979 as the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research (CAMR) within

2652-471: Was hypothesized for many centuries before their actual discovery. The existence of unseen microbiological life was postulated by Jainism which is based on Mahavira 's teachings as early as 6th century BCE (599 BC - 527 BC). Paul Dundas notes that Mahavira asserted the existence of unseen microbiological creatures living in earth, water, air and fire. Jain scriptures describe nigodas which are sub-microscopic creatures living in large clusters and having

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2704-456: Was responsible for the first isolation and description of both nitrifying and nitrogen-fixing bacteria . French-Canadian microbiologist Felix d'Herelle co-discovered bacteriophages in 1917 and was one of the earliest applied microbiologists. Joseph Lister was the first to use phenol disinfectant on the open wounds of patients. The branches of microbiology can be classified into applied sciences, or divided according to taxonomy, as

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