§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research has been undertaken to establish the means by which a normal prion becomes a rogue prion; and if he will make a statement. [149659]
§ Ms QuinThe generally accepted theory is that exposure to the rogue prion protein causes the normal protein to convert into the disease or rogue form. The mechanism by which this conversion occurs is not fully understood, but is the subject of research in a large number of laboratories throughout the world. Officials in MAFF keep updated on the progress of this research. They also monitor the progress on other, less widely accepted, theories for the conversion, such as exposure to organophosphates and manganese. Details of all the publicly funded work on prion diseases being undertaken in the UK can be found on the Medical Research Council's website at www.mrc.ac.uk.