asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will monitor levels of hydatidosis in humans, in order to establish whether levels have risen following the Government's decision not to make the worming of pet dogs mandatory and the introduction of their policy of open access to the countryside under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000. [HL4463]

Routine surveillance of human hydatid disease in England and Wales is carried out by the Health Protection Agency. Hydatid disease has a long incubation period which means that infected individuals are often unaware that they have the disease and thus surveillance systems may not accurately show the number of individuals infected.