This is a private, professional space developed exclusively for members of the College who specialise in microbiology, virology and infection prevention and control (IPC). Members can use the IC to connect, share knowledge and best practice, access useful resources and attend bespoke webinars and workshops.
The IC will be led by Dr Natasha Ratnaraja, Infection Consultant and Chair of the Medical Microbiology and Medical Virology (MMMV) Specialty Advisory Committee (SAC) at the College. We previously interviewed Dr Ratnaraja in 2024 as part of Volunteers’ Week where she told us about her background, her role as SAC Chair and what she enjoyed about volunteering with the College.
To celebrate the launch, we will be hosting a live event on the platform at 12:30pm on Friday 16 January 2026. Here, Dr Ratnaraja will introduce the community, followed by a panel discussion between herself and representatives from the Association for Laboratory Medicine (Lab Med) and the Healthcare Infection Society (HIS). This discussion will focus on current challenges in infection and how this community can benefit those working in this field.
We caught up with Dr Ratnaraja again so that she could share her ambitions for the community with us, explaining how it will benefit members, and giving her thoughts on the developments and challenges shaping the field of infection today.
The Infection Community (IC) has been developed for members specialising in microbiology, virology and IPC. Why were you interested in developing a community for members specialising in these areas?
The community of those working in the field of infection is continually growing and evolving. I believe our members would benefit from having a safe shared space to view educational opportunities, discuss issues that concern them and learn from others.
As a private space, the IC provides the opportunity to discuss challenging cases and other aspects of our work to take place in a safe and secure environment. This could engender safer working, as well as enabling improved networking opportunities.
How will the IC benefit College members?
As Chair of the MMMV SAC, I regularly hear from members who are concerned about workforce capacity, increasing workload and challenges regarding training. I feel that having a community for members to voice their concerns, as well as share learning and experiences, would support members in a meaningful way. It would also give the MMMV SAC a steer on possible initiatives to improve working conditions where we can.
As a private space, the IC provides the opportunity to discuss challenging cases and other aspects of our work to take place in a safe and secure environment. This could engender safer working, as well as enabling improved networking opportunities.
How will this community complement existing networks or specialty groups?
We always want to work with our colleagues in other specialties and organisations, to give one voice to important issues faced by the infection community. We have all been working hard to achieve this. The hope is that other societies and groups will continue to work with us and use this shared space to share learning events and resources.
We hope that the discussion facility in the community will complement the excellent BIA e-list, which any infection specialist can join. The IC is exclusive to College members, as part of the benefits of membership.
The IC is now live for members to join, with a launch event on Friday 16 January at 12:30pm GMT. What will this event entail?
There will be a demonstration of the community page with an explanation of the key features. This will be followed by a panel discussion, with representation from the HIS and LabMed, about the challenges faced in the field of infection, and how the IC can support members.
The field of infection has evolved rapidly in recent years. What do you see as the most significant developments or challenges currently shaping infection pathology?
Without a doubt the biggest challenge in the UK is workforce. The shape of training requires more hybrid-working positions that involve medical microbiology/virology and infectious diseases. This means that organisations need to review their infection services and create posts that meet the needs of their population, ensuring that they have enough infection specialists to fulfil these roles.
In addition, we are seeing a shift towards less than full time working for those in training programmes and those entering the consultant workforce. This requires a change in how infection services operate. It is important to also consider the impact on those who are single specialty medical microbiologists, medical virologists and clinical scientists.
The challenges around procurement and point-of-care testing are real and need to be addressed to ensure parity across the whole UK infection healthcare economy. It was disappointing that pathology did not feature more prominently in the government's 10-Year Health Plan; however, the College has written a comprehensive response to this detailing the vital importance of pathology to healthcare.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the biggest global issue, with rates rising at a phenomenal rate. There needs to be a global response to this, looking at antimicrobials in animal husbandry and farming, and the impact of climate change on AMR. Increased workforce capacity and access to rapid, high-quality diagnostics are essential on a global scale to meet the challenges of AMR.
What do you think are the biggest opportunities right now for collaboration in this area, and how could the IC support this?
The College is already collaborating with the British Infection Association (BIA), HIS, the Clinical Virology Network (CVN) as well as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP). The IC can help further these efforts by bringing together members who work with any or all of these specialities.
We would like to work closer with the Microbiology Society, British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) and other infection societies who wish to collaborate. Members who work with laboratory-affiliated organisations are most welcome to post ideas and discussions about how to bring our community closer together with a greater understanding of how each group works.
If a member is unsure about joining or getting involved, what would you say to encourage them?
What are you waiting for? This is a free community and a safe space for discussions and shared learning. If you are still unsure, or have questions around this work, please do email me.
Members specialising in microbiology, virology and IPC have been invited by email to join the IC. If you are interested in joining the IC but haven’t received an invitation link (please check your junk folder for an email from [email protected]), please contact [email protected] so that we can forward this invite to you.
The launch event will take place on the platform on Friday 16 January at 12:30pm – we hope to see you there.
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