Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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The case in question is sad and sensitive and involves a 24 year old man who has been diagnosed with vCJD and is seriously ill in a Dublin hospital. I have been contacted by the young man's family. While they do not wish themselves or their son to be publicly identified, they have asked me to raise the matter publicly with the Minister for Health and Children because they believe there are aspects of the case which are of public concern.

This young man was diagnosed with vCJD in November 2004. He had lived all his life in Ireland and had never travelled abroad. It is clear, therefore, that he contracted the disease here, which raises questions about the adequacy of the safeguards in place to prevent vCJD arising in Ireland. The family of the victim have drawn my attention to the Southwood report published in the UK in 1990 which led to the implementation of a range of preventative measures there. The measures included the establishment of a national vCJD surveillance unit and joint interdepartmental committee to provide independent advice, the banning of mechanically recovered meat and meat and bonemeal and the destruction of surgical instruments used on vCJD patients. A range of other measures to protect blood supplies was also implemented. In addition, the UK Government has provided funding for research for a test to detect the disease at the incubation stage.

The Minister for Health and Children should make a statement on the measures which have been put in place in Ireland to prevent vCJD and, specifically, state when such measures were implemented and explain how they are monitored. The family want to know how their son came to develop vCJD in Ireland, given that he had never travelled abroad, and they are entitled to an explanation. The UK Government established a compensation fund for victims of vCJD and their families. While the House will appreciate that the family's concern at this time is for their son, the Tánaiste should nevertheless consider the UK fund and state whether it is intended to introduce a similar measure here.

I have on a confidential basis supplied the Tánaiste with the details of the case to enable her to respond fully. I hope the Minister of State will be able to respond on the Adjournment in the positive and sympathetic manner the matter demands.

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Late last year, we learned with regret of the occurrence of a case of vCJD in a young man in Dublin. I convey my sympathy and that of the Tánaiste to the family of the young man who are coming to terms with very difficult circumstances. The case concerns a 23-year-old man who was admitted to hospital about eight months ago. It has been confirmed that he is suffering from variant CJD and the probability is that he contracted it before the current strict controls on the sale of meat in Ireland were brought into force in 1996. Given that the incubation period for variant CJD is considered to be several years, it is virtually impossible to identify a specific source of infection. However, the CJD advisory group and the National Disease Surveillance Centre will give further consideration to this issue.

The clinical management of the case is, of course, a matter for the clinicians involved. The Tánaiste has been briefed by the chairman of the national CJD advisory group on any possible broader public health implications which may have arisen from this case.

The CJD advisory group provides scientific, professional and technical advice on all aspects of CJD and the policy responses that are appropriate in light of the evolving information and evidence on this topic.

There are no public health issues in this case. The patient has never received a blood transfusion, was never a blood donor and has not received any invasive medical treatments.

New variant CJD is a rare degenerative fatal brain disorder in humans. It is believed that the vast majority of persons who have developed vCJD became infected through the consumption of cattle products contaminated with the agent of BSE. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland and the Department of Agriculture and Food are responsible for BSE controls. The FSAI stresses that the BSE controls in place in Ireland since 1996 are very strict and there are layers of robust control measures to ensure maximum consumer protection concerning BSE.

The incidence of BSE in Ireland continues to decline in the Irish cattle population, demonstrating that the controls introduced in 1996 and 1997 are working. There are fewer cases of BSE and the vast majority of current cases are in animals born before the introduction of these enhanced controls.

One of the key factors for establishing the FSAI in 1996 was the BSE crisis. The FSAI bases its decisions upon the best scientific data and knowledge, and develops inspection and audit controls to ensure maximum consumer protection in regard to meat and meat products. A rigorous policy of safeguards is now firmly established throughout the food chain.

There is a sequence of controls for BSE along the food chain. The feeding of meat and bonemeal to all farm animals is prohibited and there are stringent controls at rendering plants and feed mills. The main consumer protection measure has been the removal of specified risk materials from the human food chain. These are the parts of an animal most likely to contain BSE infectivity if that animal is incubating the disease.

All cattle are examined by veterinary inspectors before slaughter at abattoirs and rapid BSE testing is carried out on all animals over 30 months of age. Veterinary inspectors under service contract to the FSAI ensure slaughtered cattle have had the SRM removed. At boning plants, the carcasses are inspected again. Environmental health officers under contract to the FSAI inspect carcasses in butcher shops. In addition, all butchers operating in Ireland are aware that it is illegal to sell meat products containing SRM.

The FSAI and the Department of Agriculture and Food have been to the forefront in the EU with the most aggressive controls to protect both animals and humans from the BSE agent. The FSAI, the Department of Agriculture and Food and the other agencies involved in policing the food chain are working closely together to ensure full compliance and maximum consumer protection.

I have also been assured that the measures in place to protect public health, especially concerning the protection of the blood supply, are in accordance with best international practice.

A number of technical sterilising measures are taken on blood supplies and a number of donor deferral measures, especially in respect of persons who lived in the UK, form the cornerstone of this activity.

Following preliminary discussions with the chairman of the CJD advisory group and the medical director of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, the initial conclusion is that the situation presented by the occurrence of this case does not require that any other measures, apart from those already in place, need to be taken.

The IBTS undertook a review of its policies following the case of transfusion infection in the UK last year and will continue with those policies. The CJD advisory group has also recently endorsed the most up-to-date infection control guidance in respect of the management of CJD in the hospital setting. The Department is ensuring the circulation of the guidance through the hospital system.

The disease continues to be notifiable and the national CJD surveillance unit in Beaumont Hospital continues its activity in monitoring the occurrence of CJD in Ireland.

At this difficult time for those concerned, I ask everyone in this House and in the media to respect the privacy of this young man and of his relatives.