Zika Virus

Baroness Verma Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd February 2016 Lords Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for International Development (Baroness Verma) (Con)]

My Lords, with the leave of the House, I will repeat in the form of a Statement the Answer to an Urgent Question given earlier today in the other place by my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Nick Hurd. The Statement is as follows.

“The World Health Organization is working with the Governments of the countries worst affected to lead the response to the Zika virus. We welcome the recommendations of the WHO emergency committee on Zika and the UK Government are assessing our response.

The UK has been at the forefront of global efforts to ensure that the WHO has the funding, expertise and systems to respond to emerging disease threats such as Zika. As the second-largest national funder of the World Health Organization, the Department of Health met the UK’s £15 million commitment to WHO core funding in 2015, alongside political and technical support to strengthening the organisation and its preparedness. In addition to this, the Department for International Development made a discretionary contribution of £14.5 million in 2015. As part of the UK effort to strengthen global health security, DfID contributed an additional £6.2 million to the WHO’s contingency fund for emergencies, which can be used for the management of Zika.

In response to this outbreak, the first thing to say is that the risk to the UK population from the Zika virus remains extremely low. We have already taken a number of steps to ensure that the UK public are protected, but, of course, we are not complacent and we will review our approach in the light of the WHO’s decision, both in terms of actions to mitigate the risk to the UK and considering what additional support the UK could offer to the countries and regions affected.

The Department for International Development is working with Department of Health and colleagues across government on our response at the highest level”.

That concludes the Statement.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for repeating the Answer to the Urgent Question. I welcome, too, the Government’s response, working with Public Health England and the Department of Health to ensure that the public in this country receive clear and proper guidance, particularly those who travel. However, our thoughts must be with those affected, with 16,000 cases of microcephaly occurring. There is no test, no cure and no vaccine. People are facing a life of disability and poverty.

Ebola has shown the limitations of the global community’s approach to heath emergencies and it triggered a huge debate on how we should reform the WHO to make it fit for purpose. While I, too, welcome the speed of the emergency committee’s response to Zika, what steps have the Minister’s department taken in pressing for a review of the international approach to health emergencies, incorporating the function, structure and funding of the WHO? I am particularly concerned about the expectations and role of major donors. I note what the Minister said about Britain’s contribution but our part in this must be to encourage others to do more. This crisis also underscores the importance of investing in a strong system of research and development for global health. We had a debate on neglected tropical diseases in which we highlighted this issue. On a point of clarification, in relation to the additional funds being made available through the Ross fund and the Gates Foundation, it was not clear whether there would be additional money for the development of vaccines. I would be grateful for an answer on that.

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for welcoming the work that DfID is doing in responding to this outbreak. He referred to the response to Ebola and the lessons we have learned from that: for example, that health systems on the ground needed to be strengthened. Since then, we have worked to ensure that there is strong reform of how the WHO responds.

The noble Lord also referred to funding. While the UK plays its role, other major donors must also raise their own contributions. As the noble Lord is aware, we work very closely with partners to ensure that we get appropriate funding. We have learned many lessons. Part of that was ensuring that people on the ground are able to respond fully, with trained people in place. Therefore, we have concentrated on looking at how the systems are responding, particularly in Brazil, where we have seen the larger outbreak. This outbreak has elevated itself into people’s minds. The Zika virus is well known in Brazil. Research is being undertaken in a number of areas. Public Health England has offered support through the Pan American Health Organization. We are waiting for that offer to be taken up. The Ross fund, to which the noble Lord referred—the £1 billion that was announced by the Chancellor—will provide funding for research and development. Included in that will be the UK vaccines network, which will have £120 million of funded support and will be headed by the chief scientific adviser from the Department of Health, Professor Chris Whitty. The UK is doing a range of things and is responding. We know very well that we do not have antiviral for this virus at this moment in time. Those exercises are currently taking place.

[Baroness Walmsley (LD)]

My Lords, 80% of those infected show no symptoms. However, a test is about to be made available all over Brazil. It is effective as long as it is given within five days of infection. Therefore, will the Government ensure that the test is available immediately for any pregnant woman returning from one of the 24 infected countries who thinks that she may have been exposed? Is the UK planning to follow the US by banning anyone who has travelled to one of the infected countries from donating blood until it can be determined that they are not carrying the virus?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, on the issue of testing when pregnant ladies come back, if anyone has a concern—whether they are travelling to or from the country—the best advice is to go and see their doctor. It is really important that people who have a concern go and see their doctors. However, the actual virus does not travel well because the climate in the UK is not consistent with its doing so; nor is it passed from person to person. So the risks in the UK are low, but my advice would be to see a GP if there are concerns.

I do not have a response to the noble Baroness’s second point about blood donors. I will have to find out the answer.

[Lord Patel (CB)]

My Lords, the virus, having been found in 1947 with low infectivity to humans, has now gradually spread to larger populations. Three things are important. The first is surveillance: what surveillance measures need to be undertaken to identify where the disease is spreading? The second is vector control. It is a daytime mosquito, so insecticides and self-protection are important. However, in the long term, the vector itself must be controlled and this is where Britain has an important role to play. While vaccines will take a long time to develop, modern techniques of gene editing and gene modification of insects are the way forward. Britain leads the world in this science and Brazil is the next country that has expertise in it. The two countries can work together to produce, in a very short time, modification of these mosquitos so that the incidence of the disease is reduced. Will the Ross fund be used to help our scientists do this?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, as I have said, the Ross fund will be used for research and development. On the noble Lord’s point about doing research with Brazil, only last week the UK announced a £400,000 Newton fund Zika research project between Glasgow University and Fiocruz in Brazil, which is in the hotspot area of the outbreak.

[Lord Trees (CB)]

My Lords, Zika is the latest of a series of infectious diseases to have emerged in recent years in humans and animals. Some 75% of new infectious diseases emerging in humans are derived from animals. Does the Minister agree that, at this time, when our biosecurity is threatened by globalisation, we need to strengthen national surveillance capabilities for infectious diseases in humans and animals?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the wider point is, as the noble Lord, Lord Patel, said, that the rate of spread of this particular virus is low. However, I agree with the noble Lord that we need to understand better why this virus and others are suddenly increasing at a greater rate than the normal pattern in the past. The UK is showing leadership by putting money behind research and development. Working with countries where outbreaks are taking place will not just benefit our own understanding but will build resilience for those countries.

[Viscount Ridley (Con)]

My Lords—

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[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, I am aware of that research.