Written question WQ87492
- Asked by
- Adam PricePlaid
- To be answered by
- Minister for Health and Social Services
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 9 days
Question
What steps has the Welsh Government taken to prepare for the possibility of a pandemic arising from H5N1 bird flu?
Answer
Answered by Minister for Health and Social Services
The possibility of a pandemic in people arising from H5N1 bird flu has been discussed by all four UK Chief Medical Officers and is being closely monitored by Welsh Government and Public Health Wales (PHW). This includes the risk in the UK and maintaining surveillance in cases that arise outside the UK.
PHW continue to routinely test all ICU respiratory admissions for any type of influenza (including Avian) and is represented at UK Government led incident management and technical group meetings.
The UK Health Security Agency’s most recent risk assessment is that avian influenza is primarily a disease of birds and the risk to the general public’s health is very low.
Avian influenza is only one of many threats that we continuously prepare for as part of our planning for any future pandemic.