Influenza Pandemic (S&T Report)

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Broers for inducing the report so clearly and expertly. I would also like to thank the Science and Technology Committee for this most important report. The debate has been most interesting and revealing. There is much to be concerned about in the report. As has been said it is timely, as the situation in Turkey worsens with an increase in the bird flu virus. Thousand of birds in Kusadasi, which means ““bird island””, were destroyed on Wednesday and Thursday last week after a dead pigeon, a duck and a blackbird were confirmed as having had the disease. This shows that no bird species is immune. I feel that this debate, which involves many government departments, should have had two Ministers speaking, who would be more likely than one Minister to cover aspects of health, veterinary science, agriculture, travel and transport, tourism, food and finance, as well as many other bodies. Since H5N1 arrived in Turkey, where several children have died, it is evident that this is a very dangerous virus. As Turkey is closer to the UK than previously infected countries, and with increasing cases, it seems more likely that the virus will arrive in Britain. If children can get ill after touching infected gloves, utmost care must be taken. I must declare an interest: I have chickens, peacocks and white doves, and I live where there are many birds of all sorts—pheasants, ducks, geese, grouse, pigeons and wild birds, big and small, of many varieties. It is very sad to see the extermination of birds in Turkey and what it means to people who love and depend on their poultry. A man said that he would rather get rid of his wives than his hens! Until this virus goes away, there will be yet another cloud hanging over many people, as it did in the disastrous period of foot and mouth disease. As the report says, prevention is better than cure. If a pandemic develops what will substitute for the shortage of eggs, which will beinevitable if hens have to be culled? In the war there were dried eggs and eggs kept in water glass. Should we be doing something now to stockpile? To make vaccines eggs are also needed, and that would surely be a priority use if they become scarce. In all the countries where H5N1 has been reported, government workers disposing of birds have worn masks and protective clothing. What risk assessments have been undertaken in preparation for a pandemic in the UK? What is the advice on masks? Have we plenty of all that is needed? Would people working closely with poultry be a priority for the limited Tamiflu antiviral tablets, as they would be most susceptible? Being prepared for a catastrophe, which we hope will never happen, is better than panic should a pandemic develop. I hope that the Minister will respond today to the recommendation on page 48 of the report. It states:"““The Government should follow the example of the United States in making a major investment in developing new vaccine production techniques. The industry has been too conservative in relying on tried and tested methods; it is time for the Government to show leadership””." The report goes on:"““We welcome the initiative of the European Medicines Evaluation Agency in developing a ‘mock-up’ dossier for a pandemic vaccine. We recommend that the Government invest in one or more ‘mock-up’ dossiers with a view to removing the regulatory barriers to a new vaccine””." I think that the noble Lord, Lord Winston, spoke about that. It continues:"““We recommend that the Government fund further research on alternative treatments for pandemic influenza. This should include a full assessment of the risks and benefits of fractionation. If such risk analysis is left until a pandemic outbreak it will be too late.””" An article in the Times of Monday 16 January reports that Professor Hugh Pennington, president of the Society of Microbiology, said that the Government should vaccinate the whole country against bird flu. It states:"““‘The immediate threat is to poultry but we must be ready for it to spread by human-to-human contact,’ the professor said. ‘We can develop a vaccine on the current H5N1 strain found in birds within three weeks. That will give better protection than Tamiflu’””." Is that the case? It sounds hopeful. I look forwards to the Minister’s response. The report stresses the need for good communication to all sections of the population involved. I hope that the Minister will set an example today by answering this debate in a positive and thorough way. Noble Lords will most likely know that there has just been an international conference in Beijing on bird flu. The international community promised £1.1 billion to fight avian flu. ““This is self-defence””, said the EU Health Commissioner. The world’s top public health authorities stressed that the critical next step would be to devise a strategy to allocate the money to desperate governments, particularly those in south-east Asia while ensuring the funds could be accounted for. The director-general of the World Health Organisation said that distributing the funds to countries would be ““very complicated””. A critical part is making sure that the money goes to the right place. Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary General, in a teleconference said:"““There are widespread concerns that an unmanageable outbreak of virus mutation . . . in a single country may quickly spread beyond borders.""““In many communities animal and health services area being taxed to the limit””." Here in the UK, as the Minister will know, the headline of the Times yesterday was ““Hospitals shut wards as cash crisis bites””. Why are Government reforms causing so much concern throughout the country? As we are now facing a crisis in our much-needed NHS, what are the emergency plans for extra healthcare in our hospitals and the community, should a pandemic of avian flu break out? Has the Treasury put aside extra funds? What is the capacity for testing blood for the H5N1 virus in the UK? We seem to be doing it on behalf of many countries that do not have our expertise and facilities. What will happen in a pandemic? Are strategic plans in place for all these necessities? Are we prepared to cope in the event of resistant flu strains? We must have reassurances that we are prepared for the worst scenario. A high ranking Minister to co-ordinate this seems a wise recommendation.