asked the Minister for Health if he will give details of the levels of reported TB in humans over the last five years; and if there is any correlation between these figures and the failure of the bovine TB eradication scheme as admitted by the Minister for Agriculture.
Written Answers. - TB Cases.
464.
The numbers of new cases of tuberculosis notified in the last five years were as follows: 1978, 1,151; 1979, 1,099; 1980, 1,152; 1981, 1,019; 1982, 975. There are many factors which have a bearing on the incidence of human tuberculosis. Bovine tuberculosis is, of course, of special importance and I am in touch with the Minister for Agriculture in relation to the review of measures for dealing with this problem. These measures includes liaison between medical officers of health of the health boards and local veterinary officers.