Written Answers. - Disease Statistics. – Dáil Éireann (29th Dáil) – Tuesday, 19 Nov 2002

Written Answers. - Disease Statistics.

Seán Crowe

Question:

351 Mr. Crowe asked the Minister for Health and Children the person, office or Department responsible for compiling the statistics of illnesses diagnosed at a local and national level in the State; and if a breakdown by area and illness of diagnoses for the past three years can be provided. [22419/02]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin)

The statutory notification of illness applies to a prescribed list of infectious diseases. These notifications are sent to the National Disease Surveillance Centre which reports on the results. Figures in respect of the last three years by disease category and health board area are set out in the following tables.

Statistics on incidence and treatment of illnesses are also available from a range of other sources although not based on statutory notification. Some of the most important of these sources are the following. The National Cancer Registry compiles comprehensive information on incidence and prevalence for all types of cancer. The hospital in-patient enquiry, HIPE, administered by the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, records diagnostic data for each discharge from all publicly funded acute hospitals. The perinatal reporting system, also administered by the ESRI, collects information on the health of each newborn, while the EUROCAT register, administered by the Eastern Regional Health Authority, is an important source of data on congenital birth defects.

Other important information on illness is survey-based. The national health and lifestyle survey, Slán, is the most comprehensive and includes questions on self-assessed health. A health module was recently implemented as part of the quarterly national household survey undertaken by the Central Statistics Office. The CSO compiles mortality data on a quarterly and annual basis which allows mortality rates from major conditions to be measured and compared both nationally and internationally.

Table 1

Infectious Disease Notified by Health Board in 1999

Infectious Disease	ERHA	MHB	MWHB	NEHB	NWHB	SEHB	SHB	WHB	Total
Acute Encephalitis	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Acute Viral Meningitis	8	0	0	7	4	2	3	2	26
Bacillary Dysentery (Shigellosis)	34	4	1	11	4	7	7	48	116
Bacterial Meningitis (including meningococcal septicaemia)*	232	28	39	50	18	48	91	27	536*
Brucellosis	2	0	3	0	1	0	13	0	19
Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (variant)	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Food Poisoning (bacterial other than salmonella)	711	47	67	51	205	420	141	23	1665
Gastroenteritis (when contracted by children under 2 years of age)	994	60	240	81	180	287	479	557	2,878
Infectious Mononucleosis	96	0	44	15	10	2	17	14	198
Infectious Parotitis (Mumps)	22	0	2	0	0	0	13	1	38
Influenzal Pneumonia	1	1	5	2	0	0	0	1	1
Legionnaires' Disease	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2
Leptospirosis	4	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	6
Malaria	14	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	17
Measles	107	8	4	4	0	1	5	18	147
Ornithosis	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Rubella	34	2	6	4	4	1	4	6	61
Salmonellosis (other than typhoid or paratyphoid)	384	47	41	119	80	79	101	109	960
Tetanus	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Tuberculosis**	2	5	42	22	2	27	35	20	155
Viral Hepatitis Type A	69	13	15	37	3	80	98	6	321
Viral Hepatitis Type B	124	0	3	2	1	23	3	2	158
Viral Hepatitis Unspecified	106	1	7	0	0	5	1	3	123
Whooping Cough	75	1	26	6	11	15	35	10	179
Yellow Fever	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Total	3,021	218	549	412	523	999	1,049	847	7,621*

*Figures taken from the Enhanced Surveillance System for Bacterial Meningitis, please note the total figure includes 3 imported cases which were not attributed to any Health Board.

**Final figures not available, figures will be taken from TB enhanced Surveillance System.

Table 2

Infectious Disease Notified by Health Board in 2000

Infectious Disease	ERHA	MHB	MWHB	NEHB	NWHB	SEHB	SHB	WHB	Total
Acute Encephalitis	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
Acute Viral Meningitis	33	8	4	12	12	11	13	5	98
Bacillary Dysentery (Shigellosis)	19	1	2	1	–	3	3	1	30
Bacterial Meningitis (including meningococcal septicaemia)*	192	33	31	50	20	71	84	32	515*
Brucellosis	2	0	5	3	0	0	5	0	15
Cholera	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2
Food Poisoning (bacterial other than salmonella)	590	47	40	43	111	355	298	70	1,554
Gastroenteritis (when contracted by children under 2 years of age)	1,017	42	138	167	123	361	487	461	2,796
Infectious Mononucleosis	72	4	32	14	2	1	25	1	151
Infectious Parotitis (Mumps)	26	1	0	0	15	2	8	0	52
Influenzal Pneumonia	9	0	4	0	0	0	7	0	20
Legionnaires' Disease	7	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	9
Leptospirosis	2	1	1	0	0	2	0	1	7
Malaria	13	1	2	0	0	0	3	0	19
Measles	1,253	46	22	39	27	105	86	25	1,603
Rubella	51	6	15	1	2	10	6	6	97
Salmonellosis (other than typhoid or paratyphoid)	212	46	29	107	48	49	76	73	640
Tetanus	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Tuberculosis**	21	4	32	27	3	30	41	28	186
Typhoid and Paratyphoid	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Viral Hepatitis Type A	167	2	20	35	1	77	5	2	309
Viral Hepatitis Type B	115	0	7	2	0	10	47	6	187
Viral Hepatitis Unspecified	47	2	0	2	1	10	3	0	65
Whooping Cough	68	5	4	13	4	11	41	6	152
Total	3,918	249	390	516	371	1,108	1,240	717	8,509*

*Figures taken from the Enhanced Surveillance System for Bacterial Meningitis, please note the total figure includes 2 imported cases which were not attributed to any Health Board.

**Final figures not available, figures will be taken from TB Enhanced Surveillance System.

Table 3

Infectious Disease Notified by Health Board in 2001

Infectious Disease	ERHA	MHB	MWHB	NEHB	NWHB	SEHB	SHB	WHB	Total
Acute Encephalitis	1	0	0	2	0	0	1	1	5
Acute Viral Meningitis	93	13	9	11	5	12	13	5	161
Bacillary Dysentery (Shigellosis)	14	0	1	2	6	1	3	1	28
Bacterial Meningitis (including meningococcal septicaemia)*	120	22	28	20	16	43	51	26	330*
Brucellosis	0	0	7	2	2	3	0	0	14
Cholera	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease	3	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	6
Food Poisoning (bacterial other than salmonella)	437	40	22	62	87	176	214	181	1219
Gastroenteritis (when contracted by children under 2 years of age)	819	49	30	94	74	225	402	334	2057
Infectious Mononucleosis	48	0	53	10	0	3	24	6	150
Infectious Parotitis (Mumps)	22	1	2	2	4	5	2	2	40
Influenzal Pneumonia	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	2
Legionnaires' Disease	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3
Leptospirosis	8	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	9
Malaria	10	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	11
Measles	184	13	4	10	1	4	17	8	241
Not Notifiable	35	3	10	51	15	306	203	147	770
Ornithosis	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	3
Rubella	45	2	1	0	2	1	1	5	57
Salmonellosis (other than typhoid or paratyphoid)	159	33	10	37	24	46	85	34	428
Tetanus	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	3
Tuberculosis**	44	4	29	43	2	22	53	26	223

Infectious Disease	ERHA	MHB	MWHB	NEHB	NWHB	SEHB	SHB	WHB	Total
Typhoid and Paratyphoid	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	4
Viral Hepatitis Type A	66	3	3	11	3	19	1	6	112
Viral Hepatitis Type B	98	14	23	9	8	84	98	8	342
Viral Hepatitis Unspecified	42	2	5	1	5	28	6	1	90
Whooping Cough	75	1	1	7	0	25	23	10	142
Total	2,329	201	241	376	254	1,039	1,201	806	6,451*

*Figures taken from the Enhanced Surveillance System for Bacterial Meningitis, please note the total figure includes 4 imported cases which were not attributed to any Health Board.

**Final figures not available, figures will be taken from TB enhanced Surveillance System.

Dáil Éireann debate - Tuesday, 19 Nov 2002