Liz McManus
Ceist:93 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will introduce HIV and hepatitis C testing for all pregnant women; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2129/98]
Written Answers. - HIV/Hepatitis C Testing.
There is no on-going routine testing of pregnant women for HIV. However, women wishing to have a HIV test are appropriately counselled and tested and results furnished to them.
A programme of anonymous unlinked testing for HIV, as recommended by the surveillance sub-committee of the National AIDS Strategy Committee, has been carried out in maternity hospitals and units throughout the country since 1992. Results for the four year period from 1992 to 1996 show that of the total of 222,687 tests which were carried out, 37 were confirmed HIV positive, giving a rate of 0.017 per cent or one in 6,019.
Because of the recent advancements in the effectiveness of drug therapies for the treatment of HIV/AIDS and the resulting improvement in health outcomes for both mothers and babies, the National AIDS Strategy Committee and its subcommittees have been examining the issue of routine ante-natal testing for HIV in pregnant women. This will be progressed further at the next meeting of the National AIDS Strategy Committee, which will take place in the coming weeks.
Regarding hepatitis C, I am informed that apart from those who contracted hepatitis C through infected blood or blood products and apart from intravenous drug misusers among whom there is a high incidence of the disease and who are tested for the virus in drug treatment clinics, there is no evidence to suggest that the prevalence of hepatitis C in this country is any higher than in other comparable countries.
As with HIV, any pregnant woman who requests a test for hepatitis C is tested and furnished with the results of this test. To conduct a national programme of ante-natal screening for hepatitis C would be of little benefit as there is no constructive intervention which can be used, such as vaccination, and there exists no satisfactory cure for hepatitis C. Accordingly, there are no proposals at present to test pregnant women for hepatitis C. My Department is, however, examining a proposal to undertake a pilot project involving the screening of expectant mothers for hepatitis B and C. The outcome of such a study would give useful information on the prevalence of these viruses.