HC Deb 22 May 1989 vol 153 cc373-6W
Mr. Ron Davies

To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has any evidence to suggest that spongiform encephalopathies in animals can be identified by post-mortem histological examination prior to the onset of clinical signs in the live animal.

Mr. Donald Thompson

The research consultative committee, under the chairmanship of Dr. David Tyrrell, is currently considering various research projects including

past five years; and if he has received any proposal from the EEC Commission designed to reduce the expenditure in the tobacco industry.

Mr. Ryder

Expenditure on the CAP tobacco regime as requested is as follows:

a proposal to investigate the relationship between the onset of clinical symptoms of bovine spongiform encephalopathy and the occurrence of lesions in the brain.

Mr. Ron Davies

To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish a table showing the incidence of confirmed cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in each county of England and Wales for the four week period ended 19 May.

Mr. Donald Thompson

The information is given in the table.

County Confirmed cases
Avon 13
Bedfordshire 4
Berkshire 8
Buckinghamshire 6
Cambridgeshire 1
Cheshire 14
Cleveland 1
Clwyd 6
Cornwall 35
Cumbria 6
Derbyshire 5
Devonshire 41
Dorset 49
Dyfed 24
Essex 3
Glamorgan South 3
Gloustershire 18
Gwent 6
Gwynedd 3
Hampshire 13
Herefordshire and Worcestershire 9
Hertfordshire 2
Humberside 3
Ise of Wight 5
Kent 12
Lancashire 5
Leicestershire 8
Lincolnshire 5
Norfolk 5
Northmptonshire 5
Nottinghamshire 3
Oxfordshire 10
Powys 4
Shropshire 10
Somerset 38
Surrey 8
Staffordshire 10
Suffolk 4
Sussex East 9
Sussex West 7
Warwickshire 3
Wiltshire 34
Yorkshire North 12
Yorkshire West 1

Mr. Ron Davies

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has concerning the existence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the United States of America.

Mr. Donald Thompson

I am not aware that any cases of BSE have been recorded in the United States of America.

Mr. Ron Davies

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what regulations or procedures are currently in force in the United Kingdom to ensure that meat and bone meal contaminated with the agent responsible for the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the United Kingdom is not exported to other countries for inclusion in cattle rations.

Mr. Donald Thompson

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 8 March, at column533.

Mr. Ron Davies

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what advice he has received concerning the level of infectiousness of bovine spongiform encephalopathy infected cattle prior to the onset of clinical symptoms of the disease.

Mr. Donald Thompson

I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 21 March, at column513–4.

Mr. Ron Davies

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he, or any of his Ministers, were advised prior to the publication of the Southwood report, by any member of the Southwood committee that 75 per cent. was the appropriate level of compensation in respect of confirmed cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

Mr. Donald Thompson

No.

Mr. Ron Davies

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many tests his Department has conducted during the last 12 months on samples of animal protein for use in cattle rations.

Mr. Donald Thompson

The Ministry conducts a wide range of analyses on animal protein to assess nutritional values or levels of contamination. Those carried out on protein for use in cattle feeds cannot be separately identified.

Mr. Ron Davies

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what monitoring or testing for bovine spongiform encephalopathy is now being conducted on the progeny of bovine spongiform encephalopathy infected cattle; and whether he has any intention of introducing controls on the movement of such progeny.

Mr. Donald Thompson

The Ministry has taken powers to control the movement of progeny, though I have no plans to use these powers at present. The identities of the progeny of affected animals are being recorded, which will enable further investigations to be made if any of these are subsequently notified as suspect cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The Ministry has also accepted the recommendation of the Southwood working party that a study be carried out to determine whether maternal transmission can take place.

Mr. Ron Davies

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total number of bovine spongiform encephalopathy cases confirmed to date in each of his Departments veterinary investigation centres.

Mr. Donald Thompson

Before bovine spongiform encephalopathy became a notifiable disease on 21 June last year, histopathological examinations of brains from suspected animals were carried out at the Ministry's central veterinary laboratory, Weybridge, and at other Ministry establishments. Since 21 June last year, diagnoses have been carried out at nine veterinary investigation centres. The number of cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy confirmed by each centre is as follows:

Number
Cambridge 466
Carmarthen 487
Newcastle 132
Polwhele 663
Reading 491
Shrewsbury 654
Starcross 497
Thirsk 552
Wye 66

Mr. Ron Davies

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether bovine spongiform encephalopathy has yet been reported in any European Economic Community member state other than the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

Mr. Donald Thompson

No.