John Bowis MEP (Cons, London) - Philip Whitehead MEP (Lab, East Midlands) - Caroline Lucas MEP (Greens, South East) - Neil Parish MEP (Cons, South West) - Linda McAvan MEP (Lab, Yorkshire & The Humber) - link to full debate
John Bowis (Cons, London) – Mr President, the theme of this debate is, I believe, that we want a sense of urgency, not a sense of panic. (...)
What we really need for the public, who are beginning to panic, is clarity. They need to be informed and reassured. They need to understand the difference between winter flu – which is not what this debate is about – and avian flu – which is not what this debate is about, even though 67 people have died from it, all working or living with birds and poultry in Asia.
It is the combination of those factors which could lead to a pandemic flu, because it mutates from human to human. It has not happened yet, but our resolution must be to ‘prepare, prepare, prepare’! The key is clearly vaccines, and it is the new vaccines we will need, once we know the strain.
We need capacity and speed. Last week we heard from the WHO that world capacity for producing vaccines is only 300 million doses a year. My own country – the United Kingdom – is going to place an order for 120 million doses. If it does, then where are the vaccines for everyone else? (...)
Phillip Whitehead (Lab, East Midlands) – Mr President, I agree that Commissioner Kyprianou commendably treads the narrow line between effective prevention and pressing the panic button.
Our populations need to know that influenza always has been a global disease, and nowadays, of course, there are additional means by which it can be spread. They need to know that the HN51 virus has been present in some states now for several years. We need to know that the pace of spread has not actually accelerated in the way that the wilder speculation about pandemics would lead us to believe.
Could the Commissioner tell us, firstly, what we now know about the incubation period in the bird population, and whether there is any sign that the virus has spread to other species? It is not yet obviously affecting humankind.
What will the lead time for an effective monovalent vaccine stockpile be? The industry has communicated to us that it may take four years to produce an effective stockpile of everything we need to deal with the virus if it mutates in the way that is predicted.
In his statement of 12 October 2005, the Commissioner did not mention the importation and trafficking of wild birds. We have seen in the recent case in the United Kingdom that the enormous number of birds now imported into the European Union – some legally, some illegally – is a potent source of further infection. We have seen that. What can we do throughout all the Member States to have an effective control on these imports and, indeed, their ban?
Caroline Lucas (Greens, South East) – Mr President, it is absolutely essential that the EU is fully prepared for an influenza pandemic and that we learn the lessons from the past, for example, from the foot-and-mouth crisis in Europe, so that contingency plans are well-known, communication lines are clear and coordination properly planned.
The current threat of the mutation of avian flu demonstrates the role industry must play. Patent holders must allow the production of generic alternatives in poorer countries. We must also take urgent practical steps: an immediate ban on imports of wild birds into the EU, and improved bio-security, particularly in the international poultry industry.
In our amendments, we are also proposing that, as a priority, poultry farmers be offered common, seasonal influenza vaccination, in order to reduce the chances of recombination between human and avian influenza viruses at one of the most important potential interfaces, as Mr Trakatellis has said. Since international travel is likely to form the key mode of transmission, we are proposing that there should be systematic virological screenings of air filters from flights originating in countries affected by the virus.
Lastly, a question to the Commissioner: will he rule out a mass cull of wild birds, since evidence suggests it is likely to be counter-productive, dispersing infected individuals and making healthy birds more prone to disease due to stress? I would be very grateful for an answer to that question.
Neil Parish (Cons, South West). – Mr President, various speakers have made the point this morning that it is time not to panic, but rather to plan. While this resolution is very much about human health, we have to remember that we have to control avian influenza in the world. It is not just a case of Europe closing its doors and it will not happen. All the Member States must go out and help those countries that have avian influenza at the moment, and I know the Commission is doing that. The key is to stamp it out in the world if at all possible. That is why I would urge more help for countries outside the European Union to stop this disease coming in.
I would also like to say quite clearly, as other speakers have done, that importing wild birds into the European Union at the moment is crazy and needs to be stopped, at least for the time being, because there is no point in bringing in disease.
Contingency planning is also very important because, as Mrs Lucas said, during the foot-and-mouth outbreak there was a total lack of contingency planning. We have to make sure we are ready and have vaccines available.
I also think that at the moment not enough information is going out in the Member States to the poultry industry and to those who are actually running our poultry farms, to ensure that, firstly, there is increased biosecurity and, secondly, that they have protection from the disease if it comes into the European Union. (...)
Linda McAvan (Lab, Yorkshire & the Humber). – (...) I want to ask the Commissioner the same question I asked him last time we debated this issue, and that concerns the rest of the world. What discussions is he having with his colleagues in the Development DG of the European Commission? This pandemic could hit the poorest countries hard as well. We should be talking to the WHO about not just a possible European reserve fund or stock but also a worldwide reserve stock of vaccines and drugs and possibly some kind of solidarity fund.