PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Bubonic Plague: Madagascar (10 November 2017)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the NHS is planning to take any steps in response to the outbreak of plague in Madagascar; and what assessment his Department has made of potential risks to public health in the UK related to that outbreak.

Asked by:
Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

At the start of the outbreak Public Health England undertook a comprehensive assessment of the risk to the United Kingdom, which it considered to be very low. The assessment was shared with the National Health Service who is monitoring the situation. The report is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/654174/Plague_in_Madagascar_Risk_Assessment.pdf

The UK Government deployed the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST) to Madagascar in the early stages of the outbreak. The UK-PHRST provided expertise in epidemiological surveillance (case identification, contact tracing), organisation of case management, and infection prevention and control measures. The team have now returned as the outbreak has tailed off and the response has moved from acute outbreak to more steady state.

Answered by:
Steve Brine (Conservative)
20 November 2017