Viral respiratory diseases in Scotland surveillance report

About this release

This weekly release by Public Health Scotland presents epidemiological information on respiratory infection activity, including COVID-19, across Scotland. Due to the dynamic nature of all datasets included in this report, figures contained within each update may be subject to change in future releases. Any revised figures will then be reflected within the latest update.

Between 26 March and 8 October 2026, PHS are reducing the frequency of the Viral respiratory diseases in Scotland narrative report to four-weekly. The narrative report will be published on 18 June, 16 July, 13 August, 10 September, 8 October.

Viral respiratory diseases in Scotland narrative report will return to weekly reporting on 8 October 2026.

PHS will move to weekly dashboard only updates for respiratory infection surveillance until 23 April 2026.

The viral respiratory disease surveillance in Scotland interactive dashboard will return to weekly reporting on 18 June 2026.

Please note that the PHS Vaccination Dashboard will be updated weekly from 14 May until 9 July to incorporate vaccine uptake data for the spring 2026 COVID-19  vaccination programme.

The PHS Vaccination Surveillance Dashboard has been updated this week to incorporate vaccine uptake data for the spring 2026 COVID-19  vaccination programme. Additionally, monthly respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine uptake data for pregnant women has been updated to include data for February 2026 and older adult RSV vaccine uptake has been updated to 1 April 2026.

This approach aligns to the pre-pandemic one for respiratory pathogens, which typically follow a seasonal pattern. PHS will continue to monitor COVID-19 and other respiratory infection levels and reinstate the weekly narrative report before 8 October 2026 if necessary.

Main points

Overall assessment 18 May 2026 to 17 May 2026 (ISO week 21 to week 23):

• Syndromic indicators of respiratory infections from NHS24 call data and GP practices remained at baseline levels in weeks 21 to 24.
• Influenza, RSV and COVID-19 remained at baseline activity across the period, with laboratory-confirmed cases decreasing for all three pathogens.
• This report includes an overview of influenza virus genetic characterisation for the 2025/26 winter period. During this time, 71% of all influenza positive sequences belonged to the novel subclade K.
• In CARI GP sentinel surveillance, the most prevalent circulating pathogens were rhinovirus, adenovirus, and parainfluenza. Adenovirus, which normally circulates at this time of year, decreased steadily through laboratory surveillance from an earlier peak, and returned to low activity in week 24. A significant decrease has not yet been observed in CARI surveillance. Confirmed-laboratory parainfluenza was at low to medium activity levels across the period, although test positivity remained elevated in CARI surveillance.
• All-cause excess mortality for week 21 (the latest week not impacted by reporting delays) remained at baseline overall.

Further information

The next dashboard will be published on 25 June 2026.

The next narrative report will be published on 16 July 2026.

Find out more

Previous Publications

Versions of the Weekly national respiratory report publication released before 30 November 2022 may be found on the Public Health Scotland website.

Versions of the COVID-19 weekly statistical report publication released before 30 November 2022 may be found on the Public Health Scotland website.

Open data

Open data from this publication is available from the following weblinks:

• Viral respiratory diseases Open Data platform
• Flu and COVID vaccination uptake Open Data platform

Further data

• The COVID-19 Vaccine Wastage datafile was updated on 18 April 2024 to include the most recent information.
• The COVID-19 in Adult Care Homes in Scotland datafile was updated on 27 July 2023 to include more recent information.
• 28 September 2022 COVID-19 statistical report publication contains information on COVID-19 infection and vaccination in pregnancy in Scotland.
• 2 March 2022 COVID-19 statistical report publication contains information on Highest Risk (shielding patients list)
• 7 November 2023 Community Acute Respiratory Infection (CARI) surveillance in primary care contains information on flu Vaccine effectiveness in community settings.
• 25 May 2023 Interim 2022/23 influenza vaccine effectiveness: six European studies, October 2022 to January 2023, contains information on flu Vaccine effectiveness in hospital settings.
• 13 January 2024 Estimated number of lives directly saved by COVID-19 vaccination programs in the WHO European Region, December 2020 to March 2023, contains information on lives saved due to COVID-19 vaccination