Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens


The Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens is a UK-wide advisory committee. It was established in 1981, and the terms of reference were revised in 1991 to allow for a wider remit.

Description

The terms of reference of the ACDP are:
The Committee comprises a Chairman and up to 17 members. The membership includes scientific and medical experts, representing a range of disciplines.
On 31 December 2012, the Committee was reconstituted from an advisory non-departmental public body to an Expert Advisory Committee.

COVID-19

From 19 March, Public Health England, consistent with the opinion of the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens, no longer classified COVID-19 as a "High consequence infectious disease". This reversed an interim recommendation made in January 2020, due to more information about the disease confirming low overall mortality rates, greater clinical awareness, and a specific and sensitive laboratory test, the availability of which continues to increase. The statement said "the need to have a national, coordinated response remains" and added "this is being met by the government’s COVID-19 response". This meant cases of COVID-19 are no longer managed by HCID treatment centres only.