asked the Minister for Health whether he has seen the report contained in a Dublin evening paper to the effect that while the number of new cases of tuberculosis had been reducing each year up to 1958, the trend was now reversed and the incidence of the disease was on the increase; if so, whether this report is accurate; and what steps he proposes to take in order to bring the gravity of the problem home to health authorities and the public generally.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Incidence of Tuberculosis.
11.
I have seen the Report referred to by the Deputy.
The number of new cases of tuberculosis, respiratory and non-respiratory, dropped steadily year by year from 1952 until 1959 when the number increased by 106 from 3,899 in the previous year to 4,005. The number in 1959, however, was still below the figure for 1957 and, of course, for the preceding years mentioned. The fact that there was an increase had already been widely publicised. For instance, in my address to the Annual Meeting of the National Mass-Radiography Association in February last, I cited the check to the downward trend as a warning that fuller use must be made of the facilities for preventing and diagnosing the disease which are at the disposal of the community. This warning got considerable publicity. More recently, health authorities have been asked to intensify their efforts to persuade the public to make greater use of the Mass Radiography Service and further publicity and propaganda will be employed as appropriate.
I am glad to be able to inform the Deputy and the House that, while final figures for 1960 are not available, present indications are that the number of new and re-activated cases for that year is down by about 20% on the 1959 figure. This reduction, while very welcome, does not, as Deputies will appreciate, invalidate the warning I have mentioned or diminish the need for a substantial effort to reduce still further the incidence of the disease.