Written question asked by Peter Luff (Conservative) on Monday, 28 April 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 7 May 2003. It was answered by Elliot Morley (Labour) on Wednesday, 7 May 2003 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in how many of those herds suffering a breakdown following testing for bovine tuberculosis were (a) lesions found at the post mortem of any animal from the herd and (b) tissue samples taken which proved positive for mycobacterium bovis in each of the last five years. - Inc table and fact that separate data on the two categories disproportionate cost.

Answer: Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in how many of those herds suffering a breakdown following testing for bovine tuberculosis were (a) lesions found at the post mortem of any animal from the herd and (b) tissue samples taken which proved positive for Mycobacterium bovis in each of the last five years. [110756] Mr. Morley: The number of confirmed new TB breakdowns is given in the following table. A confirmed TB incident is one in which (i) visible lesions are found in at least one of the slaughtered animals at post- mortem examination, and/or (ii) Mycobacterium bovis is cultured from the tissue samples of at least one reactor animal. Separate data on the two categories can be provided only at disproportionate cost. TB incidents in Great Britain 1998-2002--herds _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Year Number of confirmed new herd incidents 1997 503 1998 720 1999 875 2000 1,044 2001 511 2002 11,837-1,962 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. 1 Provisional figures. Note: Data will remain provisional until all culture results are available and data validation has been carried out. Source: Vetnet

Secondary information