Four UK cases of Zika virus reported since January

Four cases of Zika, the mosquito-borne virus associated with brain damaged babies in Latin America, have been discovered in the UK in the last six weeks, Public Health England has said, warning that the number is likely to rise.

In total, seven people have been diagnosed with Zika in Britain in the last three years but more than half of those have been reported since January, the body added.

Dilys Morgan, head of the department of gastrointestinal, emerging and zoonotic infections at PHE, told MPs at a select committee inquiry that the rise would be partly a result of the publicity about the virus spreading across Latin America, which has been linked to cases of brain deformity in babies.

“We are seeing cases coming back,” she said. “We have raised awareness so people are more aware of the infection and we are likely to see more cases.” The same thing happened when chikungunya, a virus in the same family, spread through the Caribbean last year, she said. Several hundred cases were reported in the UK.

Although there have been two reported cases of sexual transmission of the Zika virus, the risk of transmission in the UK is considered close to zero, MPs on the science and technology select committee heard. The virus has been mainly spread in Latin America by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which does not live in northern climes.

The disease generally causes very mild symptoms. There have been reports from Colombia of three deaths of Zika-infected individuals with the rare nervous disorder Guillain-Barré syndrome, but the World Health Organisation has said the link is unproven.

“Yes, we have seen cases of death from Guillain-Barré syndrome; three have been reported,” said a WHO spokesman, Christian Lindmeier, but he said he would urge caution about linking it with Zika.

PHE says its concern is focused on women who are pregnant or may become so while travelling in Zika-affected areas. “Everyone’s risk appetite varies so it is a decision for the woman to take. We have advised delay or postponement,” said Morgan.

Travelling to Recife in Brazil, where the outbreak of microcephaly – where babies are born with abnormally small heads and brain damage – has occurred, would be a higher risk than elsewhere. If women chose to go, they should take all possible precautions to avoid mosquito bites. The Aedes aegypti mosquito bites during the day, so repellent and light-coloured clothes that cover arms and legs are advised.

The committee heard, however, that the link between the virus and microcephaly was still a hypothesis and that basic scientific information was needed before it could be proven. There have been 400 confirmed cases of microcephaly in Brazil, but Zika virus infection has only been proven in 17 of the infants.

The existing diagnostic tests for the Zika virus only work when people have the infection, which lasts no longer than a week. After that, scientists will look for antibodies that the body makes to defend against the virus, but it is hard to distinguish those caused by Zika from those caused by dengue, chikungunya or yellow fever, all viruses from the same family.