Britain Draws Up Plans for West Nile Virus

LONDON (Reuters Health) - Britain is drawing up plans to safeguard its population in case the country is hit by West Nile virus, an emerging infection that has already killed hundreds of Americans, the chief medical officer said on Thursday.

Sir Liam Donaldson said in a statement there was only a low risk of the mosquito-borne disease reaching Britain, but it was still important to have a contingency plan.

West Nile is a tropical virus that struck New York City in 1999, killing seven people. Since then, it has spread across the United States, where last year it infected 4,156 people and killed 284, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web site.

An outbreak also killed 20 horses in the Camargue region of France in 2000. Although no human cases occurred, the virus was also found in birds and mosquitoes.

Donaldson said spread to the UK was not impossible if several factors conspired, such as bird migration, an increase in the mosquito population and global warming.

His contingency plans include studies to find out whether West Nile virus is present in British mosquitoes and birds, as well as increased surveillance to identify people who fall ill with symptoms of the infection, which can include meningitis and encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain or its membranes.

Donaldson's annual report on the state of the public health notes that West Nile virus circulates in the blood of infected people and may also be spread as a result of blood transfusion, organ transplantation or breastfeeding.

He told a news conference in London it is not known if the virus can also be spread sexually, though given the relatively small number of people infected this seemed unlikely.

"In the UK, viral inactivation of blood plasma imported from the United States is carried out as a safety measure to remove the risk to patients from transfusion-transmissible viruses, including West Nile virus," according to the report.

Source: Reuters Health. July 03 2003