§ LORD RUSSELL OF LIVERPOOLMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are aware that infectious bronchitis, an acute respiratory disease of chickens, has become much more widespread during the past five years, since it was first reported in Britain in 1948, owing to the development of the broiler industry and that no treatment for this disease is known, and having regard to the heavy losses sustained by egg producers owing to the serious fall in egg production caused by this disease, and the fact that a live virus to prevent infection with the disease is being used with considerable success in the U.S.A., whether Her Majesty's Government will take immediate steps to approve the use of this vaccine in this country and subsidise its supply.]
EARL FERRERSMy Lords, infectious bronchitis is not a notifiable disease, and my right honourable friend therefore has no statistical information as to whether it is more prevalent now than it was before. It is true that the disease has attracted much more attention in recent years, probably as a result of modern intensive methods in the poultry industry. Although live vaccines against respiratory disease of poultry (including infectious bronchitis) are in use in the United States, their long-term value is open to question and it is commonly believed that they have been instrumental in aggravating other respiratory infections in the flocks in which they have been used. In view of the known hazards of live vaccines, my right honourable friend believes that it would not be in the interest of poultry keepers generally, either to import this vaccine or to subsidise its supply.
§ LORD RUSSELL OF LIVERPOOLMy Lords, I should like to thank the noble Earl for his reply, and to ask him whether it may be assumed that Her Majesty's Government will keep this matter under constant review.
EARL FERRERSMy Lords, the noble Lord is quite right. Her Majesty's Government will keep it under constant review, and very much hope that some form of vaccine which is suitable for use in the poultry industry will be found.