§ Mr. WhittingdaleTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the risks of a blue tongue virus outbreak in the United Kingdom. [168949]
§ Mr. Bradshaw[holding answer 27 April 2004]: Defra have prepared a technical review which describes the virus, its hosts and vectors, and a control strategy for the various scenarios whereby the bluetongue virus could be introduced to the United Kingdom. These documents can be found online at the Defra website at the following locations:
Technical Reviewhttp://defraweb/animalh/diseases/notifiable/disease/bluetongue_technical.PDFControl Strategyhttp://defraweb/animalh/diseases/notifiable/disease/bluetongue_control_strategy.pdfWhenever there is a serious disease outbreak in another country that could affect the UK via trade in animals and animal products, we prepare a risk assessment and post it on the Defra website The most recent one in respect of blue tongue was prepared in October last year following an outbreak of the disease in the Balearics.