Spongiform Encephalopathies (Hansard, 18 December 1995)

§ Mr. Hinchliffe
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what research his Department has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into (i) methods of 941W treatment for spongiform encephalopathy, (ii) human incubation of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, (iii) the public health risks of bovine spongiform encephalopathy and (iv) the risk of transfer of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease arising from blood transfusion; [6951]
(2) what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the treatment of spongiform encephalopathy. [6958]
(3) if he will evaluate recent scientific research on BSE, copies of which have been sent to him. [6974]
(4) if he will list the scientific research evaluated by the Chief Medical Officer in respect of the safety of British beef. [6968]
(5) what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the infection of humans with asymptomatic bovine spongiform encephalopathy. [6962]
(6) what support his Department proposes to give to the spongiform encephalopathy research compaign to expand its work. [6945]

§ Mr. Horam
The Government receive independent expert advice on all matters relating to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, including bovine spongiform encephalopathy and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, from the spongiform encephalopathy advisory committee, chaired by Professor John Pattison.
The committee has advised that there is currently no scientific evidence that BSE can be transmitted to humans or that eating beef causes CJD. Equally, the available evidence does not suggest that CJD can be transmitted via blood.
In February, as part of its continuing work to maintain an overview of research into TSEs, the committee produced a report, "A Summary of Present Knowledge and Research". Copies of the report are available in the Library.
SEAC, at its next meeting, will be considering the priorities for additional research into spongiform encephalopathies and the agents which cause them.
The Department has not received a formal approach from the spongiform encephalopathy research campaign, but will consider detailed proposals and any new evidence that are presented.
The main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council. The MRC is an independent body which receives its grant-in-aid from the office of my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade.
In 1994–95 the MRC spent approximately £800,000 on research aimed at unravelling the nature of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. It is hoped that the research will not only increase understanding of some of the basic biological processes involved in dementing diseases in man, but will also provide pointers to preventative public health measures.
942W
A series of studies also funded by the Department have recently been completed at the Institute for Animal Health, Edinburgh into time-temperature combinations required to inactivate BSE and related agents.
The Department and the Scottish Office jointly fund the national CJD surveillance unit in Edinburgh. The unit monitors and investigates the epidemiology of the disease, paying particular attention to occupation and eating habits, so that any change in the pattern of CJD can he detected. The unit produces annual reports, copies of which are available in the Library.

§ Mr. Martyn Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department is conducting strain typing studies on all human cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. [7215]

§ Mr. Horam
The Department is not currently conducting strain typing studies on all human cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

§ Mr. Hinchliffe
To ask the Secretary of State for Health if the blood of patients inoculated with growth hormone is used in transfusions. [6793]

§ Mr. Horam
No. Those who have received pituitary derived human growth hormone are excluded from giving blood.

§ Mr. Hinchliffe
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account was taken of the advisory committee on dangerous pathogens recommendations on the handling of the liver of cattle that may he infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the Chief Medical Officer's advice on eating bovine liver. [6956]

§ Mr. Horam
The advisory committee on dangerous pathogens guidance relates to the handling of tissue which is known or suspected to be infected with any transmissible spongiform encephalopathy agent in specific experimental or laboratory situations. Any infectivity if present in these circumstances could pose a potential risk and the ACDP advice, based on studies with scrapie, is a sensible precautionary measure.
This is distinct from the issue of liver for human consumption because affected cattle do not enter the food chain. In addition, all evidence supports the view that liver does not transmit the infective agent.