Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what contingency planning, if any, they have conducted to anticipate the spread of tropical virus transmission to the United Kingdom.

The outbreak of an emerging infectious disease is a categorised risk, in the 2023 National Risk Register. Working closely with the Department and NHS England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has a programme of work in place to plan and respond to this risk.

The UKHSA continues to monitor the global epidemiology of infectious diseases, to inform the assessment of risk to the United Kingdom’s population. Routine surveillance is carried out for a range of viral infections that may be acquired overseas. Data on some of these infections is published in the annual Travel-associated infections reports. Information collated from these various sources are routinely reviewed and assessed through the relevant UKHSA Horizon Scanning Group, with appropriate public health actions proposed to mitigate any threats.

The Rare and Imported Pathogens Laboratory has a small serological study, partnering with NHS Blood and Transplant and at-risk groups, to look for evidence of exposure to Usutu, West Nile, and tick-borne encephalitis viruses. The Medical Entomology and Zoonoses Ecology group study vector distribution, and look for the presence of tropical and other viruses in relevant arthropod species in an ongoing surveillance programme. The Animal and Plant Health Agency has a programme of surveillance in wild birds and mammals. The Department of Health and Social Care, the UKHSA, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs published a national contingency plan for invasive mosquitoes that may spread vector-borne diseases, such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya.