HC Deb 10 March 1997 vol 292 c56W
Mr. Hinchliffe

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the standardised mortality ratios and confidence intervals for cattle born in each month from June 1988 to date. [18195]

Mrs. Browning

Standard mortality ratios have not been calculated; they are not appropriate as the date suspect cases are slaughtered does not have a constant relationship with the date of clinical onset. The results of the analysis of standardised morbidity ratios have been published in the document "Programme to Eradicate BSE in the United Kingdom" figure 18, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

There have been too few cases of BSE in 1992-born animals to make any difference to the published ratios.