§ The Countess of Marasked Her Majesty's Government:
How much funding has been allocated to research into the hypothetical link between BSE or vCJD and exposure to (a) organophosphates (OPs), either as warble fly dressing alone or in combination with grain or other feed that has been dressed with OPs, or with OP or synthetic pyrethroid insecticides; (b) vaccines or injectibles where bovine material has been used in the manufacturing process; (c) other environmental factors; and (d) any combination of these factors. [HL4702]
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Baroness Hayman)Total spend by Her Majesty's Government on these three research areas are: (a) the Department of Health provided £30,000 to study occupational risks which included an assessment of the risks of exposure to OPs. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has spent £2 million on research to investigate the epidemiology of BSE and vCJD. The study of BSE epidemiology has not indicated that there is a link with exposure to OPs. MAFF has also invited a leading proponent of the link between exposure to OPs and BSE to submit a proposal to investigate this theory; (b) no research has been funded by the DH or MAFF into vaccines or injectibles where bovine material has been used, Again epidemiological studies have failed to implicate biologicals or pharmaceuticals in the epidemiology of BSE; (c) the persistence of BSE in the environment (soil) is being funded by MAFF at a total cost of £2.3 million and the possible role of bacteria in feed and the environment in triggering BSE is being studied at a total cost of £230,000 to MAFF.