§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what outbreaks of serious(a) animal, (b) fish and (c) plant diseases and pests there have been in the UK since 1997; and if she will make a statement. [69094]
§ Mr. Morley[holding answer 11 July 2002]: The information is as follows:
(a) animal diseasesThere were outbreaks of classical swine fever in 2000 and foot and mouth disease in 2001.
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Rhizomania (disease of sugar beet) 10 33 68 1 Ralstonia solanacearum (potato brown rot) 0 2 1 0 0 Bemisia tabaci (tobacco whitefly) 26 20 32 19 3 Liromyza huidebrensis (South American leaf miner) 53 42 36 13 2 Thrips palmi 0 0 1 0 0 Viteus vitifoliae (Grape phylloxera) 0 0 0 1 1 Pepino mosaic virus (on tomatoes) 0 3 6 6 0 Soil borne wheat mosaic virus 0 1 2 0 2 Phytophthora ramorum (cause of sudden oak death) 0 0 0 0 73 1 No longer subject to statutory control after 1 April 2002.
Further information is available on the plant health pages of the DEFRA website: http://www.defra.gov.uk/planth/ph.htm.