HC Deb 29 February 1912 vol 34 cc1684-5W
Mr. COTTON

asked the President of the Local Government Board whether the lymph used in cases of vaccination in Ireland is taken from calves which have not been slaughtered, while in England the same Board insists upon lymph being taken from calves which are afterwards slaughtered and a post mortem made with a view to seeing whether such calf or calves are affected with tuberculosis or otherwise?

Mr. BIRRELL

The Local Government Board in Ireland on the recommendation of their bacteriologist have sanctioned the adoption of a system under which all calves used for lymph production at the National Vaccine Institute, Dublin, shall be subjected to the tuberculin test instead of being slaughtered as formerly, and a post mortem examination held. It is considered that the new system would be less costly and more efficient and that the tubercular foci that might escape detection at autopsy would be at once revealed on application of the tuberculin test. The Board have arranged that the bacteriologist shall personally supervise the processes and methods of tuberculin testing and see that they are carefully carried out in the case of every calf the lymph of which is to be used for vaccination purposes. The facts as regards England are correctly stated.