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 23 April, 21 May, 18 June, 16 July, 13 August, 10 September, 8 October.

PHS will move to weekly dashboard only updates for respiratory infection surveillance until 23 April 2026. Both the Viral respiratory diseases in Scotland narrative report and COVID-19 & respiratory surveillance in Scotland interactive dashboard will then move to four-weekly reporting until 8 October 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 23 March 2026 to 19 April 2026 (ISO week 13 – week 16): 

• Syndromic indicators of respiratory infections from NHS24 call data and in GP practices were at baseline levels in weeks 13-16.
• Influenza, RSV and COVID-19 remained at baseline activity across the period, typical for this time of year.
• Adenovirus, typically circulating at this time of year, peaked at high activity between weeks 13 and 15 in laboratory surveillance, but has subsequently reduced to medium activity levels. Test positivity in the CARI primary care surveillance system was stable at an average of 5.6% over the same period and consistent with the 4-weeks prior.
• Parainfluenza, which increased to medium activity in week 14 and 15 in laboratory surveillance, returned to low activity in the most recent week. In CARI primary care surveillance, test positivity reached 14.6% in week 16, a seasonal high, with a particular increase in the 0-4 age group.
• All-cause excess mortality for week 13 (the latest week not impacted by reporting delays) remained at baseline overall.
• Over 1.8 million doses of influenza vaccine were administered in Scotland during the winter 2025/26 vaccination programme, which was around a third of the population. Compared to last season notable increases were achieved in healthcare workers (35.9% to 42.0%), at-risk group (34.6% to 38.9%), and those with a weakened immune system (61.0% to 64.5%).

Further information

The next dashboard publication will be 21 May 2026.

The next narrative report publication will be 21 May 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