HC Deb 04 April 1990 vol 170 cc653-4W
Mr. Hinchliffe

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the ability of doctors within the National Health Service to diagnose pesticide exposure.

Mr. Freeman

All doctors receive training during their undergraduate and postgraduate years in the diagnosis of acute poisoning, for instance by pesticides. In addition all general practitioners and hospital accident and emergency departments were issued with a copy of the book, "Pesticide Poisoning". This gives guidance on the diagnosis and treatment if acute poisoning from pesticides is suspected. If a doctor requires further advice on poisoning he can contact any of the five national poisons information centres, which offer a 24-hour service.

Mr. Hinchliffe

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence is available to his Department of any connection between pesticides and Parkinson's disease.

Mr. Freeman

We have no conclusive evidence of any connection between pesticides and Parkinson's disease. Some recent preliminary research has shown that in individuals with an inherited tendency to metabolise in a restricted way certain classes of biochemical compounds, including some pesticides, there could be a link with degenerative nervous diseases like Parkinson's disease. The results are inconclusive and work continues.

Mr. Hinchliffe

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what independent research has been carried out in the United Kingdom on the health effects of pesticide exposure.

Mr. Freeman

The Department of Health does not hold comprehensive information centrally about independent research carried out in the United Kingdom on the health effects of pesticide exposure. Nevertheless, medical staff in this Department keep abreast of developments published in relevant scientific journals.

Mr. Hinchliffe

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department has of a connection between pesticides and cot deaths.

Mr. Freeman

We are not aware of any evidence suggesting a connection between cot deaths and pesticides. A diagnosis of cot death, or more specifically sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), is made when, after careful inquiry and through pathological examination, no specific cause of death can be found. In such circumstances it is not, of course, possible to be certain that some unidentified toxic agent has not contributed to a premature death. However, the epidemiological characteristics of SIDS, as a whole, are not consistent with a direct connection with pesticides.

Mr. Hinchliffe

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what routine blood tests are available to determine levels of pesticide within an individual's blood.

Mr. Freeman

There is no evidence that blood tests for pesticide levels would be of benefit to symptomless individuals. Where patients present with symptoms which could be due to poisoning, for instance by pesticide, clinicians have access to local and supra-regional pathology laboratories. Laboratory staff carry out blood tests necessary to aid diagnosis and treatment.