Vol. 415 No. 3
166 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health if she will make a statement on recent comments by a person (details supplied) that Irish doctors are reporting to her Department only a fraction of the Hepatitis B cases which they diagnose; and if she will outline the steps, if any, she proposes to take to deal with this problem.
The under reporting of infectious diseases in general is a problem in this and in other countries.
While the existing level of reporting is useful for monitoring trends in the prevalence of infectious diseases, I would be anxious to ensure that the information available regarding infectious diseases, including Hepatitis B, is as comprehensive as possible.
To this end, I have initiated a review of the current system of notification and reporting, based on the outcome of which, whatever measures appropriate to improve the situation will be put in place.
