Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent the Zika virus from entering the UK.

Nicola Blackwood

The female mosquitoes responsible for Zika virus transmission are not native to the United Kingdom and it is considered highly unlikely they could survive the current UK climatic conditions long enough to become established. The risk to public health posed by Zika virus is, therefore, very low and no greater than the risks posed by other mosquito-borne infections, such as malaria, for example.

Public Health England monitors various insect vectors (in particular, mosquitoes) in the UK through surveillance projects that it runs in collaboration with a range of organisations across the UK. In England, detection of an invasive species considered to pose a threat to the UK would trigger the use of appropriate control measures.

In addition, the Government is ensuring UK residents travelling to countries with active Zika transmission are encouraged to take measures to minimise the risk of being bitten by mosquitoes, for example through the use of insect repellent.

Up-to-date travel advice is in place, and clinical advice is available to UK medical professionals. More information can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/zika-virus-zikv-clinical-and-travel-guidance

“