§ Mr. Bishopasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give information regarding the incidence of fowl pest for the past year; and if he will make a statement on research into the comparable effects of the use of live and dead vaccine.
§ Mr. John MackieThere were 690 outbreaks of fowl pest confirmed in England and Wales in the year ended October, 1965, as compared with 2,517 for the previous 12 months and an average of 2,490 for the same period over the four earlier years. Recent months have shown a greater decline and the figure of 13 outbreaks for October is the lowest recorded for any month since August, 1955 and the lowest for October since 1950.
The decline in outbreaks shows that dead vaccine is capable of controlling fowl pest in this country.
Research on dead vaccine has included studies on methods of inactivating the virus, on potency and on degree of protection afforded. It is too soon for the results of current research on live vaccine to he evaluated.