§ Mr. Rhodri MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the number of cases recorded of human infection with E. coli 0157 from(a) horse and (b) other animal sources excluding conventionally consumed meat, (i) in the United Kingdom and (ii) in other countries; what assessment his Department has made of the route by which infection is transferred; and what proposals he has to guard against future infection. [5840]
§ Ms JowellInformation on the number of individual E. coli 0157 cases associated with animal contact is not available. The Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) has identified 3 general outbreaks of E. coli 0157 (general outbreaks involve residents of more than one household) since 1992 where contact with animals was suspected as the source of infection. The results of a case control study funded by the Department of Health and currently undertaken by the PHLS should provide more information on the number of sporadic cases associated with contact with animals.
The PHLS do not routinely collate information from other countries. Information on incidence in Northern Ireland and Scotland is the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland and for Scotland respectively.
30WFollowing the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food's 1995 report on "Verocytotoxin-Producing Escherichia coli" the Department of Health commissioned a comprehensive research programme into this organism. The programme includes projects aimed at identifying the sources and vehicles of E. coli 0157 infection and evaluating the relative importance of risk factors for its acquisition. The results of this research should be available over the next 2–3 years.
Like other forms of food poisoning, the risk of E. coli 0157 infection from non-food sources can be greatly reduced by following simple rules of basic personal hygiene and all suitable opportunities are taken to remind the public of these. In particular advice on avoiding the risk of infection during farm visits has been issued by the Health and Safety Executive, the National Farmers' Union and the Department for Education and Employment has recently sent a check list to all Chief Education Officers.