§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list all the places in Scotland where drinking water is or has recently been contaminated with cryptosporidium organisms.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonThe organism is widespread in the natural environment and small numbers may be present from time to time in drinking water without giving rise to outbreaks of cryptosporidiosis. Only two such outbreaks have been associated with drinking water supplies in Scotland in recent years. One occurred in the Saltcoats and Stevenston area of Ayrshire in 1988 and the other in parts of Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire and West Lothian in 1989. In the latter case, the evidence was not conclusive that the water supply was the source of the infection.