§ Lord HOUGHTON of SOWERBYasked Her Majesty's Government:
What research is being conducted in the United Kingdom into the prevention and treatment of rabies, and whether precautions against the accidental spread of infection have been reviewed recently.
§ Lord STRABOLGIProgress continues to be made, in Government financed and private laboratories, in research on vaccines for both human beings and animals. The Government are actively reviewing the precautions which are required for research work on rabies and other viruses, particularly in the light of recent experience.
The Government's policy continues to be to prevent rabies entering the country from infected animals through the application of stringent import controls backed up by rabies awareness campaigns. Details of these arrangements are set out fully in a memorandum which was placed in the Library of the House last year.