Dr. Bennettasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what specific measures he accepts as effective in disinfecting kennels at canine quarantine establishments from the active principles of rabies; by what means rabies may be communicated within such establishments; and what steps he is now taking to ensure that such disinfection is adequately carried out.
§ Mr. MackiePremises where a rabid animal or one suspected of disease has been kept, and all material used by the animal, are disinfected by an approved disinfectant in the method laid down in the Rabies Order, 1938. Rabies is normally only communicated if an animal is at the infective stage of the disease, by bite or scratch or through the infection of an open wound; although, as I explained to the hon. Member for Dorset, North (Sir Richard Glyn) on 10th December, there is a remote possibility of indirect infection. Our veterinary staff always supervise the disinfection arrangements after a case of rabies, to ensure their effectiveness.
This whole issue will be examined carefully in the review of security precautions at quarantine establishments which we are carrying out.—[Vol. 793, c. 119.]