§ Andrew GeorgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) whether any cases of the liver disease blackhead have been detected in commercial turkey farms in the UK this year; [143612]
(2) what measures her Department has taken to protect commercial turkey farmers from the liver disease blackhead. [143665]
§ Mr. Bradshaw[holding answer 11 December 2003]: Blackhead is not a notifiable disease so it is not possible to provide an accurate figure for the number of cases. Of the cases diagnosed by the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in 2003 most have been in back-yard turkey flocks of under 100 birds, with a very small number of turkey flocks of under 2,000 birds also affected. We are not aware of disease in any larger turkey flocks.
Following the recent withdrawal of the only remaining authorised medication for the treatment of birds infected with Blackhead, the UK is pressing the EU Commission to keep the disease situation under review with a view to adopting remedial measures if the disease risk increases significantly.
Good biosecurity is a key measure in the prevention of a number of poultry diseases including Blackhead. To reinforce this message, Defra has placed on its website guidance for poultry producers to minimise the risk of Blackhead. In addition VLA Regional Laboratories have circulated an update on blackhead including advice on control to veterinary practices.