AIRPORT officials have ruled out introducing screening for passengers at UK airports, despite mounting fears over a deadly new virus from China.

Experts warned the outbreak of the Sars-like virus is likely to be on a larger scale than officially admitted.

But Public Health England and the country’s chief medical officer decided such measures were not yet required in the UK.

The risk to the country is described as “very low”, although officials stressed they were monitoring events in Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the disease has killed at least two and infected a further 45.

Scientists at the Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis in London believe the number of cases in Wuhan could be closer to 1,700.

A Gatwick spokesman said: “Gatwick does not currently have any direct flights to Wuhan and, in line with advice from the Department for Health and Social Care and Public Health England, there are no current plans to put screening in place for passengers arriving from China.“We are co-operating closely with the relevant authorities.”