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Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Statement on instructions she has issued to (a) local authority environmental health departments, (b) the State Veterinary Service and (c) the Meat Hygiene Service in respect of actions to be taken to limit the spread of avian flu; how much imported food has been (a) condemned and (b) impounded or...

Asked by

Owen Paterson (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

27 January 2004

For answer on

6 February 2004

Answered on

6 February 2004

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what instructions she has issued to (a) local authority environmental health departments, (b) the State Veterinary Service and (c) the Meat Hygiene Service in respect of actions to be taken to limit the spread of avian flu; [152171] (2) how much imported food has been (a) condemned and (b) impounded or otherwise detained as a result of suspected contamination with avian influenza virus; [152172] (3) what assessment she has made of whether the reported deaths of persons suffering from avian influenza resulted from (a) the handling of (i) live poultry and (ii) poultry meat and products and (b) the consumption of poultry meat; [152173] (4) what tests are available to detect the avian influenza virus in imported food; whether screening is being carried out on existing stocks of imported food; and what the results were; [152174] (5) what discussions she has had with the World Health Organisation on control measures necessary to limit the spread of avian influenza; [152175] (6) what assessment she has made of the likelihood of the avian influenza virus mutating in a way which will increase its pathogenicity; [152177] (7) whether the avian influenza virus is pathogenic to man; and whether it acts in concert with other pathogens to give rise to synergistic infection; [152178] (8) what the route of infection of avian influenza is; and whether it is classified as a food-borne disease; [152179] (9) what her assessment is of current risks to health from the (a) handling and (b) consumption of imported chicken meat in relation to avian influenza. [152180] Mr. Bradshaw: As soon as the outbreak of avian influenza in Thailand, the only affected country with which we have regular commercial trade, was notified we put in place a prohibition on imports of poultry meat and uncooked poultry meat products from Thailand derived from animals slaughtered after 1 January 2004. Details were sent to all Border Inspection Posts, local authorities, the State Veterinary Service, Meat Hygiene Service and to HM Customs. All the enforcement bodies concerned deal with such safeguard measures on a regular basis and are familiar with the procedures and vigilance necessary for dealing with affected products. On 28 January a further prohibition on imports of live birds from affected countries was issued in line with action agreed by member states in the EU and guidance issued to The State Veterinary Service and HM Customs. Prior to this precautionary measure live captive birds, such as falcons and finches, could be imported from the region on the basis of strict controls, including 30-day post import quarantine and testing for avian influenza. We are not aware of any food having been condemned as a result of avian influenza. Currently 31 consignments amounting to 489 tonnes of Thai poultry meat are detained at Border Inspection Posts, awaiting the required additional health certification. The World Health Organisation are investigating a `possible' human-to-human transmission of the disease in two sisters in Vietnam, but it is too early to say for definite whether or not this is the case. Human-to- human transmission of avian influenza is in any case rare and there have been no known cases of human-to- human transmission in this outbreak. The most likely source of infection resulting in human deaths from avian influenza remains in those known to have had direct contact with infected poultry. Controls on production of poultry meat for export from Thailand, in place before the outbreak was confirmed, mean that the risk of infected meat being imported is very low. The normal tests for avian influenza are used to detect the disease in live animals, not meat. Testing of foods for microbial pathogens is seldom helpful in protecting public health because, if present at all, they are likely to be present in very small numbers and are not distributed evenly throughout foods. This means tests would be unlikely to detect the virus unless the level of sampling was impractically high and very expensive. Defra has had no discussions with the World Health Organisation on this but the global strategy recommended by WHO includes the following: the rapid elimination of H5N1 infection in bird populations by culling; protection of those who are working with, and culling, chickens to protect their health and to reduce the risk of human infection; improve surveillance of human respiratory disease and rapid case detection; and development and production of a vaccine. This is a highly complicated process and four months is considered a minimum period before vaccine could be available. Additional issues of capacity and distribution would need to be resolved. The WHO has said that, on the basis of presently available data, it does not conclude that any processed poultry products (whole refrigerated or frozen carcasses and products derived from them) and eggs in, or arriving from, areas currently experiencing outbreaks of avian influenza (H5N1) in poultry flocks, pose a risk to public health. In the twentieth century there were four major influenza pandemics in 1918, 1957, 1968 and 1977. There is evidence suggesting that the 1957 and 1968 pandemics resulted from a major change to the previously circulating human virus by incorporation of genes from an avian influenza virus. Direct spread of the assumed progenitor avian virus to humans was not reproduced experimentally and it is thought that pigs, which are susceptible to both human and avian influenza viruses, may have played a role in supporting both viruses to allow gene re-assortment to take place. Most avian flu viruses do not affect man, or cause very mild illness, such as mild influenza-like illness or conjunctivitis. Occasionally strains of avian flu emerge which are particularly nasty. The human cases in Asia have been severe respiratory infections with a high mortality. The Food Standards Agency have advised that there is no risk of acquiring the Avian influenza virus through eating poultry meat. They consider the risk of infection through handling poultry meat is very low. There are no substantiated reports of people becoming infected through these routes.

Date

6 February 2004

Reference

417 c1107-9W; 152171;152172;152173;152174;152175;152177;152178;152179;152180

House

House of Commons

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