§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether there has been any incidence of BSE reported among cattle in Libya and Saudi Arabia as a result of ruminant feed containing meat and bone meal exported to those countries from the United Kingdom.
§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
How they account for the fact that there are few recorded incidents of BSE in cattle fed with UK manufactured feed which included meat and bone meal in countries other than the United Kingdom.
Lord LucasEpidemiological studies in Switzerland have identified meat and bone meal imported directly or indirectly from Great Britain as the most likely source of infection. Similarly meat and bone meal imported into Ireland accounts for a proportion of cases. Detailed studies have not been carried out in France but imported meat and bone meal has been suggested as the source.
Exports of meat and bone meal from the UK were small relative to UK consumption and, as in Great Britain, the majority of exports would have been incorporated in pig and poultry rations. We would therefore expect to see a lower incidence of BSE outside UK, reflecting this low potential exposure, but we do not have the data necessary for us to offer an opinion as to the number of exported feed-borne cases that should have been expected.
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§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
How they account for the apparent variation in susceptibility to BSE of cattle exposed to the same rations; and
What research they are conducting to establish whether there is a genetic predisposition for susceptibility or resistance to BSE among cattle; and
Whether they have investigated any possible links between the sires of cattle infected by BSE and the incidence of BSE infections, and if not whether they will do so.
Lord LucasOur best hypothesis to account for the fact that some calves in a year cohort become infected while others do not is that feedstuffs were not homogeneously infected. This is consistent with the low weight of tissues containing the infectivity relative to the total weight of tissues used for the production of meat and bone meal.
Molecular genetic and biometrical studies have failed to reveal a significant genetic factor in the susceptibility to BSE.
Possible links between the sires of cattle infected with BSE and the incidence of BSE have been examined, but without any such link being found.
§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether there have been reported any cases of BSE in home-bred cattle, on registered organic farms, which have been fed with concentrates containing meat and bone meal but would not have been treated with organophosphates.
Lord LucasThere have been about 150 cases of BSE reported in homebred animals on organic farms that qualified as "organic" on the date the disease occurred (but not necessarily for the life of the animal concerned). We do not have the resources to investigate the entire past lives for each of these animals to determine what they were fed and treated with.