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E. Coli (Scotland)
3.31 pm
The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. Michael Forsyth): With permission, Madam Speaker, I wish to make a statement about the E. coli outbreak in Scotland. The first indication of the food poisoning outbreak involving E. coli 0157 came on Friday 22 November. It was identified in the Wishaw area of Scotland and, following preliminary investigations by the local authority environmental health officers, it rapidly became apparent that the most likely common source of the outbreak was a single butcher's shop in Wishaw. By 9 pm on the same evening, environmental health officers had visited the owner and the premises concerned. All the cases investigated to date have connections with food from the butcher's premises in Wishaw.
The hon. Member for Motherwell, South (Dr. Bray), in whose constituency the likely source of the outbreak is situated, has been rightly concerned about its effects, and I wrote to him last night to report to him the latest situation, following inquiries that he made to my office.
I can now report to the House that the total number of cases reported is 132, with 64 cases confirmed and 68 awaiting confirmation. I very much regret that a total of five elderly people have died, four in the Wishaw area and one in Forth valley. On behalf of the Government and the House, I wish to extend our deepest sympathies to the bereaved families. I sincerely hope that all others affected can make a full and speedy recovery.
On the basis of all the data that have been collected to date, it would appear that the epidemic peaked round about 20 to 22 November. There is still the possibility of further cases occurring up until this coming weekend. Thereafter, there is still, of course, the possibility of secondary cases occurring as a result of person-to-person spread.
When news of the outbreak was first notified to the health board--on the afternoon of Friday 22 November--local action was taken immediately to identify the source. On Saturday 23 November, the butcher agreed to cease production and distribution of cooked meat and meat products. Further investigations were carried out to establish the supply routes from the butcher's shop, and hence the further premises that might be selling contaminated produce.
The initial indications from the investigations were that the further premises were localised in the north Lanarkshire area. The full local control arrangements, involving both the local authority environmental health officers and Lanarkshire health board officers, were set in action.
On Tuesday 26 November, the local outbreak control team identified distribution of contaminated produce beyond Lanarkshire, and food poisoning cases were reported in Forth valley. Following detailed consultations late on 26 November between Scottish Office officials and the local control team about the difficulty of identifying the distribution premises outwith the local area, a food hazard warning notice was issued early on 27 November to the environmental health departments of all local authorities in Scotland, to directors of public health and to consultants in public health medicine. It sought their immediate assistance, especially the assistance of those in the Central belt, in tracing any potential infected food that may still be on the market.
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Given that most cases are still within the Lanarkshire health board area, and that all the evidence points to a single primary source of the outbreak in Lanarkshire, the outbreak control team in Lanarkshire remains the main focus of activity in respect of investigation and control of the incident. All the necessary measures have been implemented, and the procedures are working well. Scottish Office officials are attending meetings of the control team and are keeping careful watch on the further spread of cases.
Any newly reported cases of E. coli 0157 occurring in Scotland will be fully investigated locally by consultants in public health medicine, to see whether any connection with the Lanarkshire incident is established. I am therefore satisfied that existing procedures are working, and that all that can be done to contain the outbreak is being done.
However, it is clear that we need to establish exactly what happened, and to take any measures necessary to minimise the possibility of a repetition of the incident. I have therefore decided to appoint an expert group to investigate the circumstances surrounding the outbreak, and to advise me on any implications for food safety and on the general lessons to be learnt.
Professor Hugh Pennington, professor of microbiology at Aberdeen Royal Hospital NHS trust, and Scotland's foremost authority on E. coli, has kindly agreed to chair the group. It will not, of course, replace or cut across the other necessary investigatory work or any legal processes that might flow from the tragic outbreak. The full terms of reference and membership will be announced shortly. The members will be selected for their expertise in epidemiology and food control procedures, and will be supported by the chief medical officer for Scotland.
In the short term, we are issuing a further priority food hazard warning to all local authorities, asking them to remind butchers and meat product manufacturers of the need to exercise the highest level of hygiene in their premises. The Scottish Federation of Meat Traders Associations has been closely following the incident, has as a matter of urgency issued guidance to all its members in Scotland, and is reissuing the Department of Health publication entitled, "Safer Cooked Meat Production Guidelines".
In addition to those immediate and practical steps, the need for scientific investigation of the organism has been recognised by the Government's Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food, and in 1995, in response to the committee's findings, the Department of Health in England invited research proposals. Following assessment of the proposals received, 15 projects were approved for funding this year, four of them based in Scotland. Those projects take the cost of the on-going research effort to about £2.3 million.
It remains the case that routine hygiene measures, including hand-washing, keeping raw and cooked foods separate, cooking meat thoroughly and pasteurisation of milk and dairy products, will substantially reduce the risk of acquiring E. coli 0157 infection and other food-borne infections. In March this year, the chief medical officer issued to health boards and local authorities revised guidance setting out the basic principles for the investigation and control of outbreaks of food-borne disease. That guidance will be kept under careful review.
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This is a serious matter and it demands a serious response. I should like to pay tribute to the efforts of North Lanarkshire's environmental health officers and the officers of Lanarkshire health board, and to national health service staff and general practitioners for the quality of care that they have given to the unfortunate victims. It is important that we should learn and apply all the lessons that we can from this incident. Professor Pennington and the chief medical officer for Scotland will report as quickly as possible, and we shall act on their findings.
Mr. George Robertson (Hamilton):
I thank the Secretary of State for his statement and the information that he has given to the House. However, I regret the fact that, despite the normal courtesies, I saw the statement five minutes before 3.30 pm. Frankly, that is not good enough to allow us to make the sort of informed response that the House and the people outside deserve.
I am a Lanarkshire Member of Parliament and, with my colleagues, I know how worried and concerned people are in that part of Scotland about what is a public health emergency of the gravest proportions. I add my words of sympathy and condolence to those of the Secretary of State, to all those who have been bereaved, hospitalised or affected in any way by this horrible tragedy. I also wish those who are affected by it the same speedy recovery as the Secretary of State wished them.
I add my commendation to the agencies involved, for their prompt action--among them, North Lanarkshire council's environmental protection department, Lanarkshire health board and GPs across the county and more widely. I wish to single out the staff of Monklands and Law hospitals who have worked round the clock since last weekend to the point of exhaustion, tending with their usual dedication and care those struck down by E. coli 0157.
I have no wish to add in any way to existing public concern or to encourage any panic among the people whom I and my colleagues represent and care deeply about. But I hope that the Secretary of State will recognise that, in the circumstances today, some blunt questions have to be put and answered by Ministers if confidence is to return.
The outbreak was detected last Friday and, by that very evening, it was clear that the source was meat from James Barr and Son, Wishaw, which had been persuaded then to stop the sale of cooked, but not raw, meat. On Saturday, Monklands district general hospital was already preparing to deal with possibly a hundred cases. Given all that, how is it that only last night at 10 o'clock--five long days later, and with the death toll at five and rising--and only under pressure from Lanarkshire's Labour Members of Parliament, was the first list of outlets published? Why was there not an earlier publication of the list? Did the public not have a right to know where the suspected meat was going and the right to take precautions against these most virulent of bacteria?
Is not denying people the information that might prevent illness or even death showing a wilful and arrogant disregard for public health and public safety? Is it true that one of the reasons given for withholding the list of outlets was "commercial considerations"? Is it not long beyond time that the consumer interest was always put ahead of commercial considerations? Was the Scottish
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Why is it that even at lunchtime today--six days on from the detection of the outbreak--a further 11 outlets were discovered and their names published? Is that the final list of all the outlets that took the meat? As it is possible that some infected meat might still be in fridges and freezers, will the Scottish Office publish local and national advertisements showing the known outlets for the meat? Given that knowledge of that bacterium is considerable, and that its incidence in Scotland is much higher than in the rest of the country, can the Secretary of State add to the information that he has given about the special research that has been commissioned into the reasons for that incidence and the reasons why that seems to be a particular problem in Scotland?
The Secretary of State told us about the applications for relevant research that were accepted, but how many were turned down? Last year, the Government's Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food produced a report on E. coli, calling for more research and for guidelines on packaging and cooking beef. Were those recommendations put into practice and were any of the on-going special research projects turned down, terminated or cut back?
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