Flights to the UK from countries hit by Zika Virus will be sprayed with insecticide to stop the virus reaching Britain

Flights to UK from countries hit by Zika virus to be sprayed as 'precaution'. It will see the quick-acting insecticide sprayed immediately before take-off.
First European Zika case of a pregnant woman reported in Spain Thursday.
WHO has found no evidence insecticide sprays used in planes are harmful.

Aircraft flying into the UK from countries hit by the Zika virus will be sprayed with insecticides to stop the virus spreading, the government said yesterday.

The virus – feared to cause abnormally small skulls and brain damage in babies – is carried by mosquitos. The first case in Europe of a pregnant woman being diagnosed with the virus was reported in Spain. To combat mosquitos that might have entered aircraft travelling to Europe in the cabins, insecticide will be sprayed to kill them off.

Planes arriving in the UK from all countries where cases of Zika have been confirmed in South America and the Caribbean will be sprayed as a precautionary measure.

But yesterday Florida, a major tourist destination for Britons, declared a health emergency over the virus after nine cases were detected there.

The Department for Health said the precautions – known as ‘disinsection’ - already occur on many flights from the region as a precaution against mosquito-bourne malaria.

The WHO warned this week that Europe could be hit by the disease as mosquitos capable of carrying the disease are found in much of southern Europe – raising fears of the bug hitting holidaymakers in the Med.

But the DfH said the virus is ‘extremely unlikely to be able to survive and breed here given the lower temperatures in the UK’.

Public Health Minister Jane Ellison said: ‘Disinsection is a highly precautionary measure to reduce the risk to passengers during flights to the UK.

‘I want to reassure people that the risk to the UK population is extremely low. We advise people travelling to affected areas to reduce the risk of themselves being bitten by wearing mosquito repellent, long sleeves and trousers.

Pregnant women should consider avoiding travel to countries with the Zika virus - or if travel is unavoidable, they ought to seek travel health advice from their GP or a travel clinic well in advance of their trip.’

Disinsection involves spraying a quick-acting insecticide spray immediately before take-off with passengers on board.

In addition, interior surfaces of the plane are treated with a residual insecticide spray, with the exception of food preparation areas.

The WHO advises it has found no evidence that insecticide sprays used in planes are harmful to human health when used as recommended.

The disease has already been linked to nearly 4,000 cases of microcephaly in Brazil.

The Spanish health ministry said the woman infected, who has not been named, had recently returned from Colombia, where it is believed she was infected.

Zika, which is spreading through the Americas, has been linked to babies being born with underdeveloped brains.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the microcephaly condition, linked to the mosquito-borne virus, a global public health emergency.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have advised that pregnant women who have travelled to countries affected by Zika in the Americas and Caribbean will be given extra ultrasound scans to check for abnormalities in their developing foetus.

Mothers with babies affected by the bug will be offered the option of an abortion.

But yesterday anti-abortion groups said that Zika should not be used as an excuse for terminations

Separately, Paul Tully, deputy chief executive of the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC) has criticised calls for babies with microencephaly to be aborted.

He said: ‘Killing the babies affected is not prevention and won’t prevent more cases. Rather, families should be supported and steps should be taken to establish evidence for the cause of the condition so that effective steps to prevent it can be put in place.

‘The abortion lobby is playing on the fears of expectant mothers in order to promote its own agenda, which includes discrimination against disabled children.

‘The public are not being told that the degree of disability that microcephaly causes is very varied.’ A 24-year-old Brazilian journalist, Ana Caceres, who has microcephaly has criticised comments from the Brazilian government that Brazil would have a ‘damaged generation’ because of the condition.

She said: ‘Microcephaly is a box of surprises. You may suffer from serious problems or you may not. So I believe that those who have abortions are not giving their children a chance to succeed.’

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