Bernard Allen
Question:209 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of tuberculosis cases diagnosed in each health board area in the years 1980, 1990 and in each of the years from 1995 to date. [23820/99]
Written Answers. - Tuberculosis Incidence.
Bernard Allen
Question:249 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of tuberculosis cases notified in each of the years from 1995 to 1998 by each health board; the plans, if any, he has to introduce routine tuberculosis screening of all people entering Ireland from high risk countries in view of the fact that foreign nationals accounted for 16 per cent of the total tuberculosis cases in Ireland in 1998. [23364/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 209 and 249 together.
In 1980, 1,152 cases of tuberculosis were notified to my Department. A breakdown of this figure by health board is not readily available and my Department has asked the boards to examine their records in this regard. I will forward to the Deputy any information which the health boards can provide in the matter.
The following table indicates the number of cases of tuberculosis notified to my Department in each of the years 1990, and 1995 to 1999 by each health board. The figures for 1998 are provisional pending completion of a process of validation which is being undertaken by the health boards at present. The figures in relation to 1999 reflect the information received to date from the health boards in respect of the first two quarters of the year and so are not necessarily complete. These too may be subject to revision as further information is received.
|
HealthBoard |
1990 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
|
Eastern |
191 |
154 |
113 |
128 |
154 |
94 |
|
Midland |
24 |
18 |
17 |
19 |
11 |
9 |
|
Mid-Western |
78 |
48 |
56 |
40 |
47 |
34 |
|
North-Eastern |
29 |
26 |
37 |
28 |
29 |
13 |
|
North-Western |
28 |
24 |
15 |
22 |
19 |
15 |
|
South-Eastern |
59 |
37 |
27 |
50 |
36 |
3 |
|
Southern |
90 |
112 |
123 |
90 |
81 |
28 |
|
Western |
114 |
39 |
46 |
39 |
62 |
4 |
|
Totals |
613 |
458 |
434 |
416 |
439 |
200 |
The information available to my Department indicates that persons born outside Ireland accounted for approximately 8 per cent of tuberculosis cases in Ireland in 1998.
My Department has issued guidelines to all health boards in relation to health screening services for refugees and asylum seekers. These include recommendations that medical screening and, if appropriate, medical attention for tuberculosis and a range of other infectious diseases be made available to such persons as soon as possible after their arrival in this country. This is in the interests of both those persons themselves and the general public.
As it is considered desirable that the proportion of asylum seekers who avail of screening services should be higher than is currently the case, consideration is being given to ways in which the uptake of screening can be maximised.