Commander Maitlandasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what progress is being made in the production of a satisfactory blood test to enable Johne's disease to be diagnosed in an early stage.
§ Mr. John HareWork is going on at my Ministry's Central Veterinary Laboratory at Weybridge in co-operation with the Agricultural Research Council to determine whether it is possible always to diagnose Johne's disease in the early stages by blood testing. If and when such a test is evolved this would enable infected animals to be identified and eliminated. The results so far have been inconclusive, but I can only hope that successful results will ultimately emerge.