Vol. 376 No. 1
asked the Minister for Health his Department's projections in relation to the spread of the AIDS virus in this country; his views on a report given by a person (details supplied) to the Eastern Health Board that 2,500 people would have the virus by 1989; and the steps, if any, he intends to take in order to control the spread of the virus.
186.
asked the Minister for Health if he will indicate (a) the number of confirmed AIDS cases to date, (b) the number who have died, (c) the level of increase in numbers being tested as a result of the Government's publicity campaign, (d) the adequacy of the services to deal with victims and the plans for development of these, (e) whether general practitioners have been successfully integrated into the anti-AIDS campaign and (f) whether the Government plan any further public education programmes.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 28 and 186 together.
To date, there have been 27 cases of AIDS in Ireland, of which 13 people have died.
Figures supplied to the Department from the virus reference laboratory, UCD, indicate that 2,305 persons were tested for the HIV virus during the period 1 May-31 July 1987 and that a total of 1,583 persons were tested during the three months period prior to the launch of the public information programme.
Cases of AIDS are treated in general hospitals by the appropriate consultant depending on the nature of the opportunist infection which the individual may be suffering from. I am happy that adequate services are available for the treatment of AIDS sufferers in general hospitals. I am equally happy that other services, such as the HIV antibody testing service, information and medical support services in general are adequate. My Department keeps in regular contact with the health boards and other relevant organisations to ensure that the adequacy of the services is maintained.
General practitioners are a primary source of care and counselling for AIDS sufferers and for persons who undergo an HIV blood test. General practitioners have been integrated successfully into the anti-AIDS campaign through a number of measures. The Health Education Bureau and the Irish College of General Practitioners are currently running seminars for general practitioners on AIDS. They are being attended by general practitioners from each faculty of the ICGP with the objective of having highly trained GPs who will act as resource persons on AIDS to the GP service in their local areas. In addition, the Department has circulated to all doctors, including general practitioners, a special, comprehensive, booklet on AIDS.
The Health Education Bureau is currently completing a survey to determine the information status and the needs of the general population, on AIDS. Future initiatives in the area of general public information would be determined by the findings of the survey.
It is extremely difficult to project with any accuracy the potential spread of the HIV virus in a given population. The rate of transmission of the virus is determined by factors such as the specific epidemiology of the virus and the behavioural and cultural characteristics of the population and of groups within the population.
At present, the results of confirmatory tests carried out by the virus reference laboratory, UCD, showed that 687 persons are HIV positive compared with 524 in November 1986.
While it is clear that there has been an increase in the level of HIV infection in the community, the newspaper report which attributed certain statements to the official in question, appears to have overstated the rate of spread of the virus in this country, on the basis of the current indications. The newspaper report in fact took some of the comments of the official out of context and drew inaccurate conclusions regarding the potential number of AIDS cases in Ireland.
The results of tests show that 60 per cent approximately of HIV positive persons are intravenous drug abusers. Special measures are required to deal with the problem of AIDS amongst HIV drug abusers and my Department is currently addressing the measures required with the agencies involved in this field. I propose to allocate a sum of £450,000 from the national lottery funds to assist the development of a programme in this field and to some other initiatives related to drug abuse and AIDS.
My Department is also considering proposals, in consultation with the Department of Education, for providing AIDS education in secondary schools.
