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Written question asked by Esther McVey (Conservative) on Wednesday, 10 December 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 15 December 2025. It was answered by Zubir Ahmed (Labour) on Thursday, 18 December 2025 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Visual Snow Syndrome: Yellow Card Scheme

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer 1 December 2025 to Question HL12274 on Visual Snow Syndrome: Yellow Card Scheme, if he will confirm whether official UK drug labels or patient information leaflets warn about the possibility of this condition occurring.

Answer

Visual snow syndrome (VSS) was officially recognized in 2025 with a unique code in the eleventh edition of the International Classification of Diseases by the World Health Organization. Very few cases of VSS have been reported with 22 individual drugs or vaccines through the Yellow Card scheme.

VSS is a rare disorder and the underlying cause currently unknown. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) keeps all licensed medicines and vaccines under close monitoring and any potential signal of an association between a medicine or vaccine exposure and development of VSS will be rigorously assessed through the MHRA’s multidisciplinary signal review process and added to individual product information when there is data available to support regulatory action.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
98774
Session
2024-26
Related items
Visual Snow Syndrome: Yellow Card Scheme
Monday, 1 December 2025
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects
Drugs Yellow card scheme Visual snow syndrome
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk