Written Answers. - Vaccination Programme.
Willie Penrose
Question:
352
Mr. Penrose
asked the
Minister for Health and Children
the measures being taken to prevent and control measles; and the assurance his Department can give that a serious outbreak of measles such as the one which occurred in 2000 will not occur.
[14609/03]
Measles is a highly infectious and serious disease. Approximately one in 15 children who contract measles will suffer serious complications. The MMR vaccine protects against this disease and can be administered to children at 12 months of age. A vaccine uptake rate of 95% is required in order to protect children from measles and to stop the spread of the disease in the community. I am concerned about the unsatisfactory MMR immunisation uptake rates in childhood immunisations because of the risk of unimmunised children contracting the potentially serious diseases concerned. The outbreak of measles in 2000, which resulted in three deaths and approximately 2,000 cases, is evidence of the consequences of insufficient immunisation uptake.
The health board chief executive officers established a national immunisation steering committee to address a wide range of issues relating to the childhood and other immunisation programmes, including the identification of issues that are hampering the achievement of uptake targets. The steering committee was assisted by four working groups, which examined the following areas in relation to immunisation: (a) communication, (b) materials management, (c) IT systems and (d) planning and organisation. I launched the report of the steering committee on 22 April 2002. This report is a major step towards improving immunisation uptake and also enhancing and developing the key systems which underpin the immunisation programmes. In July 2002, a national immunisation implementation group was established and is responsible for co-ordinating the planning and implementation of immunisation programmes in order to improve uptake. This group reports to the national steering committee. Some €2.116 million is being made available at national level in 2003 in respect of specific projects and measures which are being designed to improve immunisation uptake.
Based on information available from the National Disease Surveillance Centre, there has been a significant increase in 2003 in the number of reported measles cases. In weeks one to 14 inclusive in 2003, 377 cases of measles have been reported, compared with 51 cases in the same period in 2002. Specific outbreak management measures were put in place in the two regions concerned – the Eastern Regional Health Authority and the Midland Health Board earlier this year. In addition, in order to prevent a serious outbreak, chief executive officers in all health boards and the ERHA were asked earlier this year to ensure that specific immunisation measures were prioritised in all regions.
Immunisation is the key to preventing a measles outbreak and, therefore, I take this opportunity to again urge all parents to have their children immunised against the diseases covered by the childhood immunisation programme in order to ensure that both their children and the population generally have maximum protection against the disease concerned. This is particularly important at present in light of the increase in reported cases. Unfortunately, at present, the capacity of the ERHA, the health boards and the National Disease Surveillance Centre to respond to any problems in this area is compromised due to the ongoing industrial action by public health doctors. Every effort is being made to resolve this dispute.
Question No. 353 answered with Question No. 289.
Question No. 354 answered with Question No. 288.
