John Gormley
Question:139 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Health and Children the estimated number of variant CJD victims in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24582/00]
Written Answers. - CJD Incidence.
Emmet Stagg
Question:187 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Health and Children the number of cases of variant CJD reported in this country to date; if he has satisfied himself that appropriate procedures are in place to deal with incidences of the condition in this country, particularly having regard to the extent of the disease in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24558/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 139 and 187 together.
My Department's records of cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease – CJD – in Ireland date from 1980. In the period from 1980 to date, 32 persons have contracted the disease. In each case the patient died. One of the cases, which occurred in 1999, involved new variant CJD.
The CJD advisory group was established in 1996 to advise the Minister for Health and Children on CJD-related matters, including surveillance, research strategies and international developments generally in relation to this disease, and to provide advice on particular issues referred to the group from time to time by the Minister. The advisory group comprises experts in neurology, neuropathology, public health, veterinary medicine and microbiology. My Department is also represented.
The BSE sub-committee of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland was established in June 2000 to advice the FSAI on BSE and the food safety implications of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies – TSEs.
In order to establish the true incidence of CJD and to determine any changes in the pattern and/or nature of its occurrence, a national surveillance system has been established and is based at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin. The objectives of this project are to build a database of information on CJD cases in Ireland and to provide a facility to medical practitioners for the verification of suspected cases of the disease.
Ireland also participates in the European Surveillance Programme on CJD.