Vol. 478 No. 6
62 Ms Keogh asked the Minister for Health if he will give details of the procedure of ante-natal HIV testing of women; if this is done in all instances, or merely as part of a pilot programme; the purpose of this testing; if women are informed about it; if the woman or her medical practitioner is notified in the event that there is a positive result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11735/97]
Limerick East): The testing carried out in maternity hospitals and units to which the Deputy refers is, in fact, part of a programme of anonymous unlinked testing, which was recommended by the Surveillance Sub-Committee of the National AIDS Strategy Committee. The report on the results of the first three years of this screening programme was disseminated in October 1996 to maternity hospitals, health boards and other relevant agencies. The report covers a three year period from October 1992 to December 1995. Out of a total of 160,679 tests, 25 were confirmed HIV positive, giving a rate of 0.016 per cent, confirming a lower prevalence in this population group than in other European countries.
Unlinked anonymous HIV testing programmes are used as a means of confirming that the information produced by voluntary testing is giving a true indication of the prevalence of the disease. Where such programmes have been introduced internationally they have been aimed at particular target populations such as women of child-bearing age and people who are attending sexually transmitted diseases clinics. Unlinked screening of the population at large by the testing of all blood samples would be pointless, because they would not necessarily be from representative sections of the population and the costs involved would be considerable.
It was stressed from the outset of this programme that screening would be anonymous and unlinked for reasons of confidentiality. Testing is carried out on samples of excess blood, which are unlinked — anonymous — and forwarded to laboratories involved in the programme for analysis. For this reason, in the event of a positive test, neither the woman in question nor her general practitioner would be informed.
Results of testing among various population groups will help to improve the information provided to service planners for HIV and AIDS and will allow interventions to be focused more effectively on various target groups.
There is no ongoing routine linked testing for women in ante-natal clinics. However, women wishing to have a HIV test are appropriately counselled and tested and results furnished to them, once again with appropriate counselling where necessary, in ante-natal clinics. Because of recent advancements in the effectiveness of drug therapies for the treatment of HIV-AIDS and the resulting improvement in health outcomes for both mothers and their babies the National AIDS Strategy Committee and its sub-committees have been examining ways in which women who might have put themselves at risk of HIV infection could be encouraged to opt for an HIV test at an early stage.
