§ Lord AVEBURYasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will give an estimate of the number of sheep and cattle respectively which are infested with liver fluke, and of the loss of agricultural output caused by the disease in 1975.
§ Lord STRABOLGILiver fluke infestation is not a notifiable disease, so the precise number of animals affected is not known. However, on the basis of statistics collected from a number of slaughterhouses in England and Wales, it would be reasonable to assume that in 1975 about 14 per cent. of cattle and 5 per cent. of sheep were infested. These figures are comparatively low because of favourable summers which have reduced the prevalence of the snail that is the intermediate host. Because of the many factors involved, it is not possible to give reliable estimates of the loss of agricultural output caused by the disease. Nevertheless, it is a cause of considerable loss, particularly in sheep, in some years.
House adjourned at nineteen minutes before nine o'clock.