§ Mr. GaleTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will arrange for veterinary surgeons to have unimpeded access to the inactivated rabies vaccines already approved by his Department for animals in their care; [36878]
(2) if he will remove the restrictions imposed by his Department on access to rabies vaccines. [36879]
§ Mrs. BrowningI refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend for Beaconsfield (Mr. Smith) on 29 February,Official Report, column 710.
§ Mr. GaleTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his assessment of the risks of European bat lyssavirus infection in the United Kingdom. [36880]
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§ Mrs. BrowningMore than 1,880 bats belonging to 23 species from all parts of Great Britain have been screened for rabies since 1986 with negative results. The recent case of European bat lyssavirus 2—EBL 2—found in a bat in Sussex is the first time that rabies virus has been isolated from a bat in this country.
§ Mr. GaleTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if European lyssavirus type 2 is a notifiable disease in the United Kingdom. [36882]
§ Mrs. BrowningYes.
§ Mr. GaleTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many scientifically proven cases of rabies confirmed by isolation of the rabies virus have occurred in animals in the United Kingdom over the last 25 years; in what species; and in what years they occurred. [36884]
§ Mrs. BrowningEuropean bat lyssavirus 2 was isolated on 6 June 1996 from a bat found in Sussex. This is the only occasion in the last 25 years on which rabies has been confirmed by isolation of virus.
§ Mr. GaleTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the comparative risks of infection from European bat lyssavirus and urban and sylvatic rabies virus; and if he will list his sources of information and the methodology used to reach his conclusions. [36881]
§ Mrs. BrowningNo such comparative assessment has been made or is considered necessary while this country remains free from rabies except for the one isolated case of European bat lyssavirus in an insectivorous bat in Sussex. In this particular case, the risk of dissemination of disease to terrestrial wildlife was considered, on the basis of the circumstances of the case, to be very small.
§ Mr. GaleTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he proposes to take following the recent diagnosis of rabies in a Daubenton's bat; and if he will make a statement. [36883]
§ Mrs. BrowningI refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. and learned Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to the hon. Member for Staffordshire (Mr. Fabricant) on 11 June 1996, Official Report, column 139, and to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 18 June, Official Report, column 441. These outline the action already taken.
The restrictions on the premises on which the bat had been held will remain in place until they pose no risk of dissemination of rabies. We have asked all members of the Sussex bat group to help us ensure that any dead or sick bats found in Sussex are sent for testing at the Central Veterinary Laboratory as part of our continuing British survey for rabies in bats. Bat groups throughout Britain are being contacted to ask for their continuing support in providing bat carcases for such testing.