§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Lucas on 11 June 1996 (WA 160), whether they have reconsidered their decision not to make public funds available for testing the hypothesis linking BSE with organophosphates.
Lord LucasIt is quite clear from the pattern of the UK epidemic that it is feed borne, and not associated with any other substantial means of spread. There are many hypotheses for the origin of the epidemic, all unproven, of which the organophosphate (OP) hypothesis is one.
We have no present plans to extend the current research programme to include the OP hypothesis. The evidence which we have on the biochemical activity of organophosphates and on the relationships worldwide between the use of organophosphates and the occurrence of BSE lead us to suppose that the hypothesis is most unlikely to be true. Additionally, despite much vocal support, the basis for the OP hypothesis has not been published in peer reviewed scientific journals, and the work leading to its evolution has not been verified independently.
The theory that Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) could have been caused by the exposure of cattle to OP pesticides as a treatment for warble fly infestation has already been considered in detail by scientists in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Department of Health and the Medical Research Council. A report from SEAC entitled Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies—A Summary of Present Knowledge and Research (HMSO ISBN 0–11–242–9874), published in 1995 and available in the Library of the House, reviewed a number of alternative theories on BSE, including the OP theory, and concluded that none justified extending the current research programme to investigate them further at that stage. The report notes that the original epidemiological investigation considered any possible association between the use of agricultural chemicals, including OP insecticides, and the occurrence of BSE. None was found.
However, given the great lack of knowledge and understanding of the disease process in BSE and TSEs generally, and the importance of our attaining such understanding, we are determined not to close our ears to any possible explanation, however unlikely it may seem to us at the time. We are aware of the recent press reports concerning new research carried out by the Institute of Psychiatry into the use of Phosmet and its possible association with BSE. SEAC, which keeps all alternative theories on BSE under regular review, has asked Mr. Purdey to put his theory to a future meeting of the committee.