§ Mr. PickthallTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will discuss with the Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs the research of Professor Alan Ebringer of Kings College, associated with BSE, and its implications for multiple sclerosis. [27036]
§ Yvette CooperThe Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) provides scientifically based advice to the Department of Health, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Food Standards Agency and the devolved Administrations on matters relating to spongiform encelopathies, taking into account the remits of other bodies with related responsibilities. At SEAC's meeting on 6 February 2002, Professor Ebringer and his colleagues gave a presentation outlining both the autoimmune hypothesis for the cause of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and the diagnostic test that had been developed on the basis of the proposed aetiology. Following a lengthy discussion, SEAC considered that Professor Ebringer supported his theory by using a limited choice of publications, and that he had disregarded much of the published literature.
SEAC concluded that, on the basis of the results presented, there was little justification at this time for carrying out additional work. The minutes of SEAC's discussions can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/bse/bse-publications/seac/mins06–02–02.pdf