§ [The Question was as follows:—To ask His Majesty's Government how many cases of psittacosis or "parrot disease" have been recorded since 1st June, 1929; what steps have been taken to prevent the spread of the disease, and whether there are any restrictions imposed on the importation of parrots, and, if so, to what nature?]
498§ LORD DAWSON OF PENNMy Lords, I desire, for a few minutes, before the noble Lord answers on behalf of the Government, to draw attention to a few facts. I do not do so in any critical spirit, because the present health administration of the country has rightfully the confidence of the public. This is not really a new disease. It is a disease which has been known for some time, but it is new in this respect, that it has recently become a matter of some anxiety in certain districts of England. There is no fear of it becoming rapidly diffused, like the disease of influenza. It will not spread in that universal way, but it will spread in patches. It is a disease which breaks out among small communities of people and families, but in the patches where it does appear you are liable to get a mortality which is very depressing.
I will illustrate that by this instance. A boy bought a parrot a little while ago—because the incubation period is anything from ten days to three weeks—and it was noticed by his mother that the parrot was not very well. The mother attended to the parrot and cleansed the bird's eyes. The next thing that happened was that the, parrot died, and a daughter who had never had any contact with the parrot during its life, took the body and deposited it in the dust bin. The girl who had removed the body of the parrot died after a week's illness, and at the present time the mother and two sons are gravely ill from the disease. That is apt to give a very serious importance to this disease, because it is liable when it does break out to have somewhat dire results. On the other hand it does not carry with it any necessary anticipation of what is really a widespread epidemic, like influenza.
Now as to the parrots. This is a serious question. It is mainly the parrots of South America which are responsible. Some months ago 500 parrots were despatched from the Argentine to France. Some 200 of them died en route and the presumption is that the remaining 300 were not desirable visitors to the French Republic, for the result of their being landed was that France had an outbreak of this disease; and the Argentine itself had an outbreak last July. That leads me to this. It seems to me that there are two courses open for consideration. Of course, the Ministry of Health know the 499 difficulties of each of them far better than the rest of us. One is to put the parrots into quarantine. There always is a lighter side even to serious happenings. I picture a quarantine of parrots. I hope they will be in some remote island, like Lundy Island, because they will provide serious entertainment for those who survive. If you were to put on to that island certain members of His Majesty's Forces you would find that those which survived had a knowledge of language which would make them highly saleable when this epidemic was past.
The alternative to that is an embargo. I know that is a dangerous word for me to use to those who use it in a political sense. But I would point out that we had to put an embargo upon diseased meat and animals which are likely to be diseased when they are killed, and I would suggest for the consideration of His Majesty's Government whether, seeing that the parrot is, after all, only a luxury, and that if the parrots arrive in this country now the public will put them out into the streets, as they have been doing quite frequently already, it is almost better to put an embargo upon the importation of these parrots for a reasonable time till the disease is past. I think you would find that the mere announcement that you were going to raise an embargo would probably put a stop for the time being to their despatch here from the Argentine. Because, really, when you have the experience of 500 parrots being despatched to France, and 200 of them dying en route, you are really unnecessarily spreading a disease which can be serious in patches, although I admit that I do not think the patches will spread over the country. I think it is very important that no alarm should arise over that, beyond what is proper and fitting.
§ LORD MARLEYMy Lords, the Question put by the noble Earl divides itself into three parts, and I feel sure your Lordships' House will welcome the intervention of the last speaker, who is able to speak with such authority on this matter. I found myself in a difficulty at the beginning, in that I did not know how to pronounce the name of this disease, and I got no guidance. But I know that His Majesty's Government will welcome the support which the noble Lord has 500 given to the reply which I have to make on behalf of the Ministry of Health. He paid a tribute to the work of the Ministry of Health which, I am sure your Lordships will agree, is well deserved.
In the first place the disease is not a compulsorily notifiable disease, and as a result we have no complete records of the disease; but since June 1, to which date the noble Earl referred, the Ministry has received information of forty cases in this country, in some of which the available particulars establish only a suspicion of the disease. The next point was the question of the danger of the spread of the disease. The Ministry are advised that the danger of the spread of the disease from the human case is practically negligible, and I think that accords with the information that has been given. That means to say that human beings cannot pass it on from one to another. If, for example, there were no parrot in a house, those who were in the house would appear to be safe. To deal with the spread of the disease therefore we have to rely upon precautions adopted with regard to the parrot itself. The Ministry are advised that the matter might become serious. They have therefore prepared a Memorandum, setting forth such information as is available with regard to the disease and the precautions which should be observed in the care and handling of parrots. This Memorandum will be circulated shortly to local authorities, and will be on sale.
With regard to restrictions as to the importation of parrots, there are at present no such restrictions. I do not think that any members of His Majesty's Forces would welcome being placed on Lundy Island with imported parrots, and I was not quite certain to which—the parrots or the members of His Majesty's Forces—the noble Lord referred when he said that they would learn bad language. But under the existing law I am advised that restrictions could only be imposed if it were established that measures of this kind were necessary in order to prevent the spread of the disease. The Ministry of Health feel that further information is necessary before they would be justified on grounds of health in imposing restrictions on importations. They are further informed that practically no 501 commercial consignments of parrots reach the country during the winter months.