§ Mr. ButlerTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he has on the mode by which two laboratory workers in the United States of America working with the AIDS virus were infected by it; and if he will make a statement regarding the implications for similar United Kingdom technicians.
§ Mr. NewtonThe two laboratory workers in the United States of America found to be infected with HIV after working with it had both regularly handled large volumes of highly concentrated virus.
627WI am informed that in the first case it has been suggested that spillages of contaminated material not observed and adequately dealt with at the time, may have been a contributory factor. In the second case, in which a laboratory origin of infection has not been confirmed, infection may have been the consequence of accidental injury with a blunt needle.
Our laboratory safety guidlines for HIV remain entirely appropriate; it is important that they be observed scrupulously. No case of laboratory acquired infection has been reported in this country.