§ Lord Rotherwickasked Her Majesty's Government:
In the light of the second brucellosis case in Britain this year, what new measures they will be implementing; and [HL563]
Whether, in the light of the second brucellosis case in Britain this year, they will require all animals under 12 months-old to be blood-tested before importation; and [HL564]
Whether, in the light of the second brucellosis case in Britain this year, they will commission research on better methods of blood; testing and detection of the disease in pregnant cows. [HL565]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty)Cattle may be imported into Great Britain from other regions of the European Union in accordance with harmonised EU rules for testing and certification. Animals coming from brucellosis-infected regions are tested for the disease before export to GB using blood tests precribed under the EU legislation. However it is known that the development of a serological response to brucella abortus can occasionally be delayed, particularly in heifers infected prior to their first calving. For this reason additional post import checks including a post calving test, are carried out on imported cattle as part of our national brucellosis surveillance programme. As an additional safeguard against the disease, farmers and importers are also required to notify all premature calvings and abortions in order for brucella investigations to be carried out.
We consider that the current combination of EU rules and national rules to prevent the spread of brucellosis within the EU is sufficient to identify and control outbreaks of the disease but we are not complacent and are keeping the situation under review.
Defra is also supporting a brucellosis research programme which includes research into the development of a more sensitive test to identify the presence of so-called "latent infection".