Written question asked by Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton (Conservative) on Thursday, 10 April 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 21 May 2003. It was answered by Lord Hutton of Furness (Labour) on Wednesday, 21 May 2003 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what methods are recommended by his Department and its agencies to routinely test for (a) anthrax, (b) botulism, (c) ricin, (d) staphylococcus enterotoxin B, (e) plague and (f) smallpox.

Answer: Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what methods are recommended by his Department and its agencies to routinely test for (a) anthrax, (b) botulism, (c) ricin, (d) staphylococcus enterotoxin B, (e) plague and (f) smallpox. [109289] Mr. Hutton: Guidance on the laboratory handling and testing of diagnostic samples for anthrax, botulism, plague, staphylococcal enterotoxin and smallpox and is available on the Health Protection Agency website at http://www.phls.org.uk. Testing for ricin is not routinely undertaken and there are currently no laboratories in the health service that can test for ricin. This service is provided by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down.

Secondary information