§ 27. Dr. Segalasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many thousands of doses of cholera vaccine have been sent from this country to Egypt; what was the date of their manufacture; and how have they been distributed.
§ Mr. BevinI would refer by hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. and gallant Member for Macclesfield (Air-Commodore Harvey) on 3rd November. Quantities sent represent about 1,400,000 doses. Of this total I am informed that 155,000 cubic centimetres were supplied from stock at the time of the outbreak and were manufactured on or after June, 1946. The balance was manufactured in September and October of this year. As regards distribution, 25,000 cubic centimetres have been supplied by the War Office to the Egyptian Air Force, 220,000 cubic centimetres to General Headquarters, Middle East and to the British Embassy in Cairo for inoculating members of the British Forces and British civilians. The balance of over 1,800,000 cubic centimetres was supplied by British firms to the order of the Egyptian Government.
§ Dr. SegalWhile I thank the right hon. Gentleman for the detailed reply, which I hope will do a great deal to remove some misconception in Egypt, may I ask if it would not be a humane action on the part of this country if a team of expert epidemiologists could be sent out to Egypt to assist that country in coping with this dreadful plague?
§ Mr. BevinI will consider that. I must say that with all the difficulties going on in the world, I am extremely short of this type of person, but I will look into it.