Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the risk to the UK of (a) rabies, (b) the Echinococcus multilocularis tapeworm and (c) other zoonotic diseases.

The quantitative rabies risk assessment carried out prior to harmonisation with the EU pet travel rules in 2012 took into account, amongst other things, a number of variables including a doubling in the number of cats and dogs entering the country. Pets entering on a UK pet passport (i.e. returning from an overseas visit) were not included in this analysis as they must be fully protected against rabies before leaving the UK. We are continuing to monitor the factors considered in the risk assessment and are content that the risk remains very low. The risk assessment was published in 2011 and is available here:

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.395.143&rep=rep1&type=pdf

In 2010 we carried out an assessment of risk from the tapeworm Echinococcus Multilocularis in readiness for harmonisation and which confirmed continuing risk through the movement of pet dogs. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/animal-diseases-international-monitoring As a result, the UK continues to maintain its controls against Echinococcus multilocularis. Since 1 January 2012 import controls relating to this tapeworm have been implemented under EU Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1152/2011. This Regulation lays down the tapeworm import conditions which pet dogs must comply with when being moved into the UK from other countries. The European Food Safety Authority is currently assessing how the new regulation has been implemented in the free countries (Ireland, Malta, Finland and the UK) and this includes a new assessment of any change in risk. Experts from the UK as well as other Member States have been part of this working group and the opinion will be published in 2016 prior to the review of the legislation required in December 2016. We are continuing to monitor the factors considered in the risk assessment as we do for any notifiable disease and will take the EFSA opinion into account when it is finalised.

Officials from the Department work closely with colleagues from public health and food safety to assess the risk posed to people by zoonotic diseases. While a number of mechanisms exist for this purpose depending on the specific disease, the main cross – Government group that identifies and assesses emerging infection risks to human health (non-food borne disease) is the HAIRS (Human Animal Infections and Risk Surveillance) group which meets on a monthly basis and includes veterinary experts from the APHA:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/human-animal-infections-and-risk-surveillance-group-hairs.