§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what(a) research his Department has conducted and (b> action has been taken related to the recent outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome and the air industry. [104484]
§ Mr. JamiesonMy Department has not carried out any specific research into severe acute respiratory syndrome as this is a public health issue. My Department would advise travellers that although no restrictions on travel are currently being recommended, they should be aware of the symptoms and seek urgent medical advice should they develop them.
114W
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what research has been conducted into the link between ill-health from infection and travelling by plane; and if he will make a statement; [104487]
(2) what role the unit for addressing health issues affecting air passengers and crew announced by his Department on 6 March will have in examining the relationship between ill-health from infection and travelling by plane: what other work is (a> being conducted and (b> planned into this relationship; and if he will make a statement. [104485]
§ Mr. JamiesonResearch by Building Research Establishment (BRE) Ltd., commissioned by my Department and the Department of Health and entitled the "Study of possible effects on health of aircraft cabin environments—Stage 2", reviewed the published research on the transmission of infection and listed the papers of significance.
The Aviation Health Unit, announced on 6 March and to be based at Gatwick, will become a centre of expertise on health issues affecting air passengers and crew. The unit will be involved in reviewing the BRE recommendations on infection and travelling by aircraft and will propose appropriate further research as needed.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what(a> legislation and (b> regulations govern travel by people with suspected infectious ill-health (i) from and within the UK and (ii) arriving in the UK on board aircraft; [104504]
(2) what (a) legislation there is and (b) measures are taken to prevent travellers with suspected infectious ill-health from travelling (i) from the UK and (ii) to the UK on board aircraft. [104486]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe Public Health (Aircraft) Regulations 1979 (S.I. 1979/1434) require the commander of an incoming aircraft to notify the port health authority at the first port of landing if the crew become aware that there is a person on board who is suffering from, or has symptoms which may indicate the presence of, an infectious disease. In the case of outgoing aircraft on an international flight, the medical officer at the airport may examine any person who proposes to embark if he has reasonable grounds for believing him to be suffering from a disease subject to the International Health Regulations of the World Health Organisation (ie cholera, plague, smallpox and yellow fever) and must prohibit his embarkation if he shows symptoms of such a disease. In addition, an airline may, under the terms of its Conditions of Carriage, refuse boarding to any passenger if they consider his mental or physical state is a danger to himself, the aircraft or any person in it.