Latest news with #InnovationandTechnologyCommittee
Wales Online
3 days ago
- Health
- Wales Online
Killer virus symptoms as 'highly likely' it will reach UK
Killer virus symptoms as 'highly likely' it will reach UK - detected in Spain New instances of a deadly virus have been identified in popular holiday destinations frequented by Brits One of the early symptoms of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is a severe headache (Image: Getty ) New instances of a deadly virus have been identified in popular holiday destinations frequented by Brits, and experts are warning it could soon reach the UK. The virus, known as Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), is currently considered the most significant threat to public health, having already caused outbreaks in Iraq and Namibia. The disease has also resulted in two reported fatalities in Pakistan and several cases have been documented in Spain. Last week, sources speaking to Parliament's Science, Innovation and Technology Committee revealed that it was "highly likely" the UK would soon see cases. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control recently reported a case of CCHF in Spain, noting that the disease is 'known to be circulating among animals in this region and human CCHF cases have been previously reported in the area. "From 2016 to 2024, a total of 16 autochthonous CCHF cases were reported in Spain, with disease onset occurring between April and August. The province of Salamanca is a hotspot for CCHF, with half of the cases resulting from tick report further states that under certain conditions in Spain, people are significantly more likely to contract Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever: "This risk drastically increases for people performing activities that expose them to tick bites (e.g. hunting, forestry work, hiking, animal surveillance). The UK Health Security Agency has reported that an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 human infections occur globally each year, including approximately 500 fatalities. However, this figure is likely underestimated due to unreported cases. Confirmed cases of Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) have been imported into the UK in the past, including a fatal case in 2012 and another in 2014. In March 2022, another CCHF case was reported in the UK following a positive test result, reports the Mirror. To prevent CCHF: "As a general precaution against CCHF, but also against other tick-borne diseases, people who may potentially be exposed to ticks should apply personal protective measures against tick bites. In 2023 experts speaking to Parliament's Science, Innovation and Technology Committee revealed it was " In 2023, experts informed Parliament's Science, Innovation and Technology Committee that it was "highly likely" there could soon be cases in the UK. Article continues below During the hearing, James Wood, head of veterinary medicine at Cambridge University, suggested that CCHF could reach the UK "through our ticks, at some point". The disease is caused by Nairovirus, which is spread by ticks and has a fatality rate of between 10 and 40 percent according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Typically found in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia, the disease could be expanding beyond its usual territories and moving towards countries like Britain and France due to climate change, as reported by the Express. The World Health Organisation has identified CCHF amongst its nine "priority diseases", a classification that highlights the most significant public health threats. The condition was initially documented in Crimea during 1944, affecting military personnel and farm workers, and by 1969 scientists had established that the pathogen responsible was the same virus that had been isolated from a Congolese child in 1956. Humans (and potentially non-human primates) represent the sole animal species known to develop serious clinical manifestations of CCHF. Signs of CCHF The virus presents with various symptoms including severe headaches, elevated temperature, spinal and joint discomfort, abdominal pain, and nausea. Bloodshot eyes, facial flushing, throat redness, and petechiae (small red marks) across the roof of the mouth are frequently observed. In serious instances, the WHO cautions, patients may experience yellowing of the skin, emotional instability and altered sensory awareness. As the condition advances, extensive severe bruising, heavy nosebleeds, and uncontrollable haemorrhaging at injection points may develop, typically commencing around the fourth day of the illness and persisting for approximately a fortnight. During recorded CCHF outbreaks, mortality rates amongst hospitalised individuals have varied from nine per cent to as much as 50 per cent. The lasting consequences of CCHF infection remain insufficiently researched in survivors to establish whether particular complications arise. Nevertheless, recuperation is gradual. There have been instances of human infection reported globally in at least 55 countries, either through case reports or virological or serological evidence. In Europe and its neighbouring regions, local human cases and/or outbreaks have been reported in Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Russia, Spain, Turkey, and Ukraine. Spain reported its first locally acquired case in August 2016, marking the first instance in Western Europe, following their initial detection of CCHFV infected ticks in 2010. Article continues below As of the end of October 2023, French officials have reported the detection of CCHFV in H. marginatum ticks collected from cattle in the eastern Pyrénées, marking the first confirmation of the virus's presence in tick populations within the country.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Symptoms of killer virus in Spain - 'highly likely' to reach UK
Spain has seen the most recent cases of the disease as experts say one activity 'drastically increases' the risk of catching it New cases of a killer virus have been detected in holiday hotspots loved by British tourists - and experts have warned it could reach the UK. It's been described as the current biggest threat to public health, after breaking out in Iraq and Namibia. Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), has also caused two reported deaths in Pakistan - with several cases reported in Spain. Last week, insiders speaking to Parliament's Science, Innovation and Technology Committee revealed it was 'highly likely' there could soon be cases in the UK. In its most recent report the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said a case of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever was recetnyl reported in Spain with the illness 'known to be circulating among animals in this region and human CCHF cases have been previously reported in the area.' In the eight years to 2024 a total of 16 autochthonous CCHF cases have been reported in Spain with dates of disease onset between April and August. The province of Salamanca is a hotspot for CCHF, with 50% of the cases being exposed to ticks. It adds that in certain conditions in Spain people are much more likely to catch Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever: 'This risk drastically increases for people performing activities that expose them to tick bites (e.g. hunting, forestry work, hiking, animal surveillance). The UK Heath Security Agency has said it is estimated that globally between 10,000 and 15,000 human infections, including approximately 500 fatalities, occur annually, although this is likely to be an underestimate as many cases. Confirmed CCHF cases have been imported into the UK, including one fatal case in 2012 and one in 2014. In March 2022, a CCHF case was reported in the UK following an initial positive test result. To prevent CCHF: Use DEET-containing insect repellent to prevent tick bites. Wear gloves, long sleeves, and pants when handling animals where CCHF is found. Avoid contact with body fluids of potentially infected animals or people. 'As a general precaution against CCHF, but also against other tick-borne diseases, people who may potentially be exposed to ticks should apply personal protective measures against tick bites. In 2023 experts speaking to Parliament's Science, Innovation and Technology Committee revealed it was 'highly likely' there could soon be cases in the UK. During the hearing, James Wood, head of veterinary medicine at Cambridge University, said CCHF could find its way to the UK 'through our ticks, at some point'. The disease is caused by Nairovirus, a condition that is spread by ticks and according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and has a fatality rate of between 10 and 40 percent. Typically, the condition is found at small stages in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and in Asia, reports the Express. However, the disease could be expanding out of its usual territories and moving towards the likes of Britain and France due to climate change. WHO noted CCHF was among its nine 'priority diseases', a system that lays bare the biggest public health risks. CCHF was first described in the Crimea in 1944, among soldiers and agricultural workers, and in 1969 it was recognised that the virus causing the disease was identical to a virus isolated from a child in the Congo in 1956. Humans (and possibly non-human primates) are the only animal species known to manifest severe clinical CCHF disease. Symptoms of CCHF Among the virus' symptoms include headaches, high fever, back and joint pain, stomach ache, and vomiting. Red eyes, a flushed face, a red throat, and petechiae (red spots) on the palate are also common. In severe cases, WHO warns, jaundice, mood swings and sensory perception are encountered. As the illness progresses, large areas of severe bruising, severe nosebleeds, and uncontrolled bleeding at injection sites can be seen, beginning on about the fourth day of illness and lasting for about two weeks. In documented outbreaks of CCHF, fatality rates in hospitalised patients ranged from nine percent to as high as 50 percent. The long-term effects of CCHF infection have not been studied well enough in survivors to determine whether or not specific complications exist. However, recovery is slow. Globally, there have been case reports, virological or serological evidence of human infection in at least 55 countries. In the European Region and its neighbouring countries, locally acquired human cases and/or outbreaks have been reported from Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Russia, Spain, Turkey and Ukraine. Spain officially reported its first autochthonous case in August 2016, the first in Western Europe, following their first detection of CCHFV infected ticks in 2010. At the end of October 2023, French officials reported the detection of CCHFV in H. marginatum ticks collected from cattle in the eastern Pyrénées, which was the first time the presence of the virus in tick populations had been confirmed in the country.
The Independent
29-04-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Online Safety Act ‘not up for negotiation' in US trade talks, says minister
The Online Safety Act is 'not up for negotiation' and will not be part of any trade deal discussions with the United States, MPs have heard. There have been reports that, in the wake of lobbying from US-based tech giants, President Donald Trump would push the UK to water down online safety laws in exchange for a trade deal or relief from tariffs. But when asked directly by MPs on the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee if the Act could be part of trade negotiations, parliamentary under-secretary for online safety Baroness Jones of Whitchurch said: 'The Prime Minister has made it absolutely clear that the Online Safety Act is not up for negotiation. 'It's not part of the trade deal discussions. We've made that clear, and the fact is that the Online Safety Act is a piece of legislation – it can't just be negotiated away. 'It's well through the process of being implemented, so it can't be changed, and we're happy to reassure everybody that we are sticking with the Online Safety Act.' The online safety rules are currently being steadily rolled out and, once fully in place, will require platforms hosting user-generated content, such as social media sites, to protect users, in particular children, from illegal and harmful content, as well as put measures in place to ensure users do not encounter harm. Those found in breach of the rules could face fines of up to £18 million, or up to 10% of global turnover – whichever is greater – and, in the most serious cases, sites could be blocked from the UK. Giving evidence earlier in the session, Mark Bunting, from Ofcom, said that, had the Online Safety Act been in force during last summer's riots, which were sparked by misinformation spreading on social media in the wake of the Southport stabbings, platforms would have faced action from the communications regulator. During an appearance before the committee in February, tech firms including Meta, TikTok and X had suggested very little would have been different had the online safety rules been in force, but Mr Bunting did not agree. 'I think we were very clear that we thought there were a number of questions that the tech firms would have had to answer had the duties been in force when those events took place,' he told MPs. 'Now, I don't want to go back and legislate events that happened before the duties were in force, but I think I can say that we don't think the companies are sufficiently, consistently or effectively responding to events of this kind, and, as the committee will probably be aware, we're working now on proposals for further measures in our codes of practice for companies to implement crisis response protocols, specifically in response to the events of last summer. 'It will expect companies to be doing a lot more and to be able to be much more accountable for their response than they have been in the past.'
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Google accused of ‘monetising' website linked to Southport misinformation
Google has been accused of helping to monetise a website which spread misinformation about the identity of the Southport attacker and sparked the summer riots last year. MPs on the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee said they had seen an unpublished report which said the tech giant's advertising network had helped monetise a site where misinformation about the attack appeared. In the days following the murder of three girls in Southport last summer, violence erupted across England, in part fuelled by false information circulating online about the attacker's identity and background, including false claims that he was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK the previous year. Committee chair Chi Onwurah MP, during an evidence session on misinformation, said MPs had seen a report from digital advertising watchdog Check My Ads, which said it had evidence that a website claimed 'to be monetised' by two firms, including Google, 'at the time that it published that misinformation'. In response, Google's managing director for trust and safety in Europe, Amanda Storey, said that if true, such an incident would violate the tech giant's rules and it would investigate 'what had gone wrong'. 'I would completely agree that monetising any form of low quality information, particularly associated with an atrocious real world attack, is absolutely not acceptable,' she said. 'I haven't seen that report yet – very happy to take a look at the report once it comes out, and to respond in writing – but very much agree that would violate our policies. 'It's something that we would look into and understand what had gone wrong. 'These fast-moving, real-world situations are very challenging – there is viral spread of misinformation on social media, and we have to deal with the echo of that across sites that we operate with.' Elsewhere in the session, Ms Storey said she believed that had the Online Safety Act been in effect last summer when the riots took place, it would have 'made a difference' to how easily misinformation was able to spread. New codes of practice that will require platforms to remove illegal content and protect children from harmful material are due to take effect this year, with fines running into billions of pounds for the largest firms who breach the new rules. Ms Storey added that she believed Google's position as a search engine, rather than a social media platform, meant it was in a different position with regards to social media platforms when it came to misinformation. 'I think the illegal harm codes would have probably made a difference to overall ecosystem safety,' she said. 'I think that our policies and our approaches meant that we were not particularly implicated in what happened in the Southport situation, but obviously it's an atrocious attack, and our thoughts and sympathies are with the families.' But in response, committee member Emily Darlington MP said she was 'concerned' that Google appeared to be trying to distance itself from links to misinformation around the Southport attack. 'You've been presented evidence here where you helped to monetise the creation of misinformation – a key piece of misinformation – that was used to incentivise the riots,' she said. Asked by Ms Darlington if Google had done any 'reflection' since the riots on how its 'advertising and monetisation of content may have contributed', Ms Storey said: 'Absolutely. Any time an incident plays out in the real world, any real world harm situation, we have our strategic command teams do a root cause and corrective action assessment. 'We post-mortem. If anything did go wrong, what can we learn from that? And we roll those learnings into our policies and our enforcement processes on a real-time basis.' She added that she would report back and look to share more details of that process with the committee.
The Independent
25-02-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Google accused of ‘monetising' website linked to Southport misinformation
Google has been accused of helping to monetise a website which spread misinformation about the identity of the Southport attacker and sparked the summer riots last year. MPs on the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee said they had seen an unpublished report which said the tech giant's advertising network had helped monetise a site where misinformation about the attack appeared. In the days following the murder of three girls in Southport last summer, violence erupted across England, in part fuelled by false information circulating online about the attacker's identity and background, including false claims that he was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK the previous year. Committee chair Chi Onwurah MP, during an evidence session on misinformation, said MPs had seen a report from digital advertising watchdog Check My Ads, which said it had evidence that a website claimed 'to be monetised' by two firms, including Google, 'at the time that it published that misinformation'. In response, Google's managing director for trust and safety in Europe, Amanda Storey, said that if true, such an incident would violate the tech giant's rules and it would investigate 'what had gone wrong'. 'I would completely agree that monetising any form of low quality information, particularly associated with an atrocious real world attack, is absolutely not acceptable,' she said. 'I haven't seen that report yet – very happy to take a look at the report once it comes out, and to respond in writing – but very much agree that would violate our policies. 'It's something that we would look into and understand what had gone wrong. 'These fast-moving, real-world situations are very challenging – there is viral spread of misinformation on social media, and we have to deal with the echo of that across sites that we operate with.' Elsewhere in the session, Ms Storey said she believed that had the Online Safety Act been in effect last summer when the riots took place, it would have 'made a difference' to how easily misinformation was able to spread. New codes of practice that will require platforms to remove illegal content and protect children from harmful material are due to take effect this year, with fines running into billions of pounds for the largest firms who breach the new rules. Ms Storey added that she believed Google's position as a search engine, rather than a social media platform, meant it was in a different position with regards to social media platforms when it came to misinformation. 'I think the illegal harm codes would have probably made a difference to overall ecosystem safety,' she said. 'I think that our policies and our approaches meant that we were not particularly implicated in what happened in the Southport situation, but obviously it's an atrocious attack, and our thoughts and sympathies are with the families.' But in response, committee member Emily Darlington MP said she was 'concerned' that Google appeared to be trying to distance itself from links to misinformation around the Southport attack. 'You've been presented evidence here where you helped to monetise the creation of misinformation – a key piece of misinformation – that was used to incentivise the riots,' she said. Asked by Ms Darlington if Google had done any 'reflection' since the riots on how its 'advertising and monetisation of content may have contributed', Ms Storey said: 'Absolutely. Any time an incident plays out in the real world, any real world harm situation, we have our strategic command teams do a root cause and corrective action assessment. 'We post-mortem. If anything did go wrong, what can we learn from that? And we roll those learnings into our policies and our enforcement processes on a real-time basis.' She added that she would report back and look to share more details of that process with the committee.
