"To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the proportion of infectious diseases in people that originate in animals; and what plans they have to adopt a “One Health” approach to prepare for future pandemics...." Lord Trees - View Speech
"I thank the Minister for his Answer. I shall press him for more specifics. Given the huge cost of zoonotic pandemics—Covid-19 has been estimated to cost the UK £340 billion—what plans have Her Majesty’s Government been considering to improve animal health, public health and environmental health systems which are critical …..." Lord Trees - View Speech
"My Lords, will the Minister confirm that the Covid cases reported daily in the media are not clinical cases? They are not sick people but positive results of the PCR test. Given that the PCR test is incredibly sensitive and can detect tiny numbers of virus particles, what proportion of …..." Lord Trees - View Speech
"My Lords, an exit from the pandemic will be achieved only when an appropriate level of population immunity is achieved, either by natural infection or vaccination. Given that the Government’s strategy is to rely on vaccination to deliver population immunity, what estimates and advice are Her Majesty’s Government receiving about …..." Lord Trees - View Speech
"My Lords, I do not want to be alarmist but the discovery of tick-borne encephalitis virus in the UK is worrying. The tick vectors of this viral infection are widespread throughout the UK and are maintained on a variety of animal hosts, including wild deer, which are now extremely common …..." Lord Trees - View Speech
"My Lords, I too am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Lansley, for securing this debate. Like him, I commend the new national action plan on tackling antimicrobial resistance. There is no doubt that antimicrobial resistance—that is resistance to microbes—is a major global challenge. The O’Neill commission’s final report …..." Lord Trees - View Speech
"My Lords, I join others in congratulating the noble Lord, Lord Lansley, on securing this debate, which, I dare to suggest, in terms of the significance of the global problem that we are discussing, is one of the most important that we have had in this House for some time.
"My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, for bringing forward this timely debate. As someone who for much of their professional life has researched and taught on tick-borne diseases, I never imagined that I would be speaking on this subject in your Lordships’ House, but I would …..." Lord Trees - View Speech
"My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Crisp for initiating this important debate and draw attention to my various veterinary interests that are listed in the register. As some noble Lords have observed, this topic was the subject of a report in 1998 by the Science and Technology Select …..." Lord Trees - View Speech