§ Dr. StrangTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his oral statement of 20 March,Official Report, columns 387–96, on what day he was advised of the new evidence regarding a possible link between BSE and Creutzfeldt Jakob disease. [24704]
§ Mrs. BrowningI refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Martin) on 29 April 1996,Official Report, column 409.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on what date he was first informed of the link between BSE and the new strain of CJD. [24833]
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§ Mrs. Browning[holding answer 16 April 1996]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Martin) on 29 April 1996, Official Report, column 409.
§ Mr. ColvinTo ask the Minster of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what liaison there has been between his Ministry and the US National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland on research into BSE and CJD. [24905]
§ Mrs. BrowningUK officials have frequent contact with US officials by letter, phone and by personal contact at international meetings. This has extended to the provision of research materials and information when requested.
§ Mr. Home RobertsonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make an exemption from the rule on the destruction of the carcases of cattle over the age of 30 months for highland cattle and other slow-maturing native breeds from herds where there is no history of BSE. [25177]
Current diagnosis research on TSEs Project code Project title Start date End date 1996–97 Total costs Project status SE1409 Development of an antemortem test for BSE and natural scrapie inflection through the detection of abnormal deposits of PrP 1 April 1994 31 March 1998 341,312 4 SE1411 Further analysis of nucleic acid differences between control and scrapie/BSE infected animals 1 April 1994 31 March 1998 125,532 4 SE1705 Electrophoretic analysis of body fluids to identify diagnostic markers in BSE and scrapie 1 April 1992 31 March 1996 28,300 4 SE1707 Sensitivity studies of fibril detection techniques used in Electron Microscopy for the diagnosis of scrapie 1 April 1991 31 March 1997 42,176 4 SE1723 Production of polyclonal antiaera to highly purified bovine PrP scrapie 1 April 1995 31 March 1996 — 4 SE1724 Biochemical changes in the spongiform encephalopathies 1 April 1995 31 March 1996 — 4 SE1727 Identification of putative NA components of the etiologic agent of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies 1 June 1995 31 May 1996 34,658 4 SE1728 Production and properties of PrP: EC IVch framework collaboration 1 April 1996 31 March 1999 92,493 4 SE1730 Electrophoretic analysis of body fluids to identify disease specific proteins in ruminant spongiform encephalopathy 1 April 1996 31 March 1999 151,530 0 SE1731 Production of polyclonal antisera to highly purified bovine PrP scrapie (was SE1723) 1 April 1996 31 March 1997 167,022 5 SE1732 Collaboration agreement with Electrophoretics International to develop ZDE techniques for the diagnosis of BSE 22 December 1995 31 December 1996 0 4 SE1917 Scrapie infection of sheep neural and extraneural cell lines 1 January 1994 31 December 1996 33,920 4 SE1922 Studies of the sensitivity and specificity of methods of PrP scrapie detection in animal TSEs 1 April 1995 31 March 1998 153,591 4 Total 1,170,924 Thirteen records listed.
§ Mr. WelshTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what sums his Department has allocated to research into the preparation of a live test for BSE; and if he will make a statement on the conclusions of that research. [23361]
§ Dr. StrangTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the projects that receive funding from Government, or are under consideration for funding, that are related to establishing a live identification test for spongiform
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§ Mrs. Browning[holding answer 16 April 1996]: Officials are working on a scheme under which animals which can safely be identified as low risk may be sold for human consumption. I hope to issue a consultation paper very shortly.
§ Dr. StrangTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list all projects related to spongiform encephalopathies that receive funding from Government, or are under consideration for funding; and if he will give the start date and proposed end date for each project. [23198]
§ Mrs. Browning[holding answer 28 March 1996]: The attached table shows both the projects that currently receive funding by MAFF, that are related to spongiform encephalopathies. Research funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Medical Research Council and the Department of Health may also be relevant.
encephalopathies; and if he will give the start date and proposed end date for each project. [23197]
§ Mrs. Browning[holding answer 28 March 1996]: The attached table shows both the projects that currently receive funding and the projects that are currently being considered for funding by MAFF, that are related to establishing a live test for spongiform encephalopathies. The list also shows the cost of the research. Some research funded by the BBSRC may also be relevant; details can be provided by the Office of Science and Technology.
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Current diagnosis research on TSEs Project code Project title Start date End date 1996–97 Total costs Project status SE1409 Development of an antemortem test for BSE and natural scrapie inflection through the detection of abnormal deposits of PrP 1 April 1994 31 March 1998 341,312 4 SE1411 Further analysis of nucleic acid differences between control and scrapie/BSE infected animals 1 April 1994 31 March 1998 125,532 4 SE1705 Electrophoretic analysis of body fluids to identify diagnostic markers in BSE and scrapie 1 April 1992 31 March 1996 28,300 4 SE1707 Sensitivity studies of fibril detection techniques used in Electron Microscopy for the diagonsis of scrapie 1 April 1991 31 March 1997 42,176 4 SE1723 Production of polyclonal antiaers to highly purified bovine PrP scrapie 1 April 1995 31 March 1996 — 4 SE1724 Biochemical changes in the spongiform encephalopathies 1 April 1995 31 March 1996 — 4 SE1727 Identification of putative NA components of the etiologic agent of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies 1 June 1995 31 May 1996 34,658 4 SE1728 Production and properties of PrP: EC IVth framework collaboration 1 April 1996 31 March 1999 92,493 4 SE1730 Electrophoretic analysis of body fluids to identify disease-specific proteins in ruminant spongiform encephalopathy 1 April 1996 31 March 1999 151,530 0 SE1731 Production of polyclonal antisera to highly purified bovine PrP scrapie (was SE1723) 1 April 1996 31 March 1997 167,022 5 SE1732 Collaboration agreement with Electrophoretics International to develop ZDE techniques for the diagnosis of BSE 22 December 1995 31 December 1996 0 4 SE1917 Scrapie infection of sheep neural and extraneural cell lines 1 January 1994 31 December 1996 33,920 4 SE1922 Studies of the sensitivity and specificity of methods of PrP scrapie detection in animal TSEs 1 April 1995 31 March 1998 153,591 4 Total 1,170,924 Thirteen records listed.
§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of(a) the incidence and (b) the causes of BSE otherwise than in the United Kingdom. [23535]
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the number of cases of BSE reported in each of the states of the European Union to the most recent available date. [24415]
§ Mrs. BrowningI refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave to the hon. Members for Edinburgh, East (Mr. Strang) and for Angus, East (Mr. Welsh) on 29 April 1996,Official Report, column 408.
We have no reason to believe that BSE in other countries is caused by any other reason that the feeding of infected animal feedingstuffs.
§ Mr. MarlowTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in which EU countries in which specified bovine offals are not removed from the carcase there have been cases of BSE within the last 12 months. [25860]
§ Mrs. Browning[holding answer 19 April 1996): Cases of BSE have been recorded in France, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom in the last 12 months.
According to our information, the only member states which apply SBO controls are Portugal, France, Belgium and the United Kingdom. Further information on the SBO controls in place in these member states was given in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury (Mr. Key) on 29 April 1996, Official Report, columns 413-14.
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§ Ms QuinTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many cases of BSE there have been in(a) France and (b) Switzerland; and in how many of those cases the cause has been attributed to animal feed imported from the United Kingdom. [26022]
§ Mrs. Browning[holding answer 23 April 1996): As at 29 April, 20 cases of BSE have been recorded in France and 210 cases in Switzerland.
We have no information to suggest that any of these cases were caused by the consumption of animal feed imported from the United Kingdom; however, this possibility cannot be discounted.