Written question asked by Baroness Byford (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Rooker (Labour) on Tuesday, 17 April 2007.

Animal Welfare: Horses

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:How many scientists are engaged in research into bluetongue and allied diseases such as African horse sickness; and whether data from this work are held centrally.

Answer: The wide-ranging research work on bluetongue and associated diseases is undertaken by Pirbright (in containment facilities) and some other research (not requiring containment) is carried out in a number of other facilities, such as universities. The total number of scientists engaged in this area of work is around 36. This figure can fluctuate a little with the allocation of part-time staff and changes in student and post-doctorate numbers. The knowledge base on bluetongue and African horse sickness is predominantly centralised at Pirbright and the laboratory co-operates internationally in respect of its work on this area. This is reflected by its status as a European Community reference laboratory for bluetongue and is the OIE reference laboratory both for bluetongue and African horse sickness. All research undertaken at Pirbright is published.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 3007; 691 c36WA
Session: 2006-07
Subjects: Staff Research Bluetongue disease Scientists African horse sickness
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk