PENGUIN ISLAND CONSERVATION PARK —
BACTERIAL TRANSMISSION
1188. Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE to the Minister for Environment:
I
draw the minister's attention to a recently published paper in Applied
and Environmental Microbiology concerning the extraordinary
incidents of antibiotic resistance to human strains of intestinal bacteria E.
coli in silver gulls and other birds on Penguin Island Conservation Park.
(1) Has the
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions informed the minister
about the issues relating to the transmission of these bacteria to wildlife and
the human population?
(2) Has DBCA
consulted with researchers, the Department of Water and Environmental
Regulation, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and
the Department of Health about the risks associated with these findings and the
measures that should be taken?
(3) Is the minister aware that the materials
contaminated by human faeces, dumped with the food waste at coastal sanitary landfill sites, is likely to be the
source of these and other bacterial infections in the island's
wildlife?
(4) What actions will be taken to prevent transmission
of potentially resistant pathogenic bacteria to birds, other wildlife
islands, nature reserves and, ultimately, back to the human population?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
Honourable member, I have noticed
what I believe to be an error in the answer, so I will get that checked. I will
provide the member with an answer tomorrow.