Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2017
2103. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 314 of 28 June 2017, the reason the information could not be obtained by checking the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, HSPC, returns as malaria is a notifiable disease that should be reported to HSPC. [37838/17]
View answerI have been advised that Defence Force Medical Officers are required to make returns to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) on an individual basis. Therefore, in order to obtain the information that you sought, all available Defence Force Medical Officers were consulted in relation to your question of 28 June.
As I indicated to you in my reply to Parliamentary Question of 14 June 2016, summary information in respect of notifications of infectious diseases is available from the HPSC on their website. However, issues may arise in regard to the accuracy of such data in respect of Defence Force personnel as situations may arise where the status of the individual as a member of the Defence Forces was either not recorded or not declared. While members of the Defence Forces are encouraged to present to the military medical system, they may opt to present to a civilian general practitioner, who may not be aware that they are a member of the Defence Forces. Equally there may be members of the Defence Forces who contracted malaria while on holidays in areas where risk of malaria exists.
Therefore, the Defence Forces are not in a position to corroborate the figures collected by the HPSC attributed to Defence Force personnel.
