Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 30 Apr 1998

Vol. 490 No. 4

Written Answers. - Meningitis Incidence.

Michael Bell

Ceist:

9 Mr. Bell asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will provide details on the incidence of all forms of meningitis in the past five years in this country; the way in which this compares with EU trends; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for variations from the incidence in other EU countries. [10251/98]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Cowen)

There are two forms of meningitis bacterial and viral. Bacterial meningitis is the more serious form of the disease. The number of cases of meningitis notified to my Department in the past five years has been as follows:

	Bacterial Meningitis	Acute Viral Meningitis
1993	203	39
1994	241	90
1995	382	74
1996	410	77
1997	476	32

The report of the working group on bacterial meningitis and related conditions which was published in January 1997 provided the following comparative figures for Ireland and a number of other EU countries, using the report of the King's College London European surveillance unit on the incidence of meningococcal disease in certain European countries in 1994.

Belgium	1.32 per 100,000 population
Denmark	3.71 per 100,000 population
England-Wales	2.2 per 100,000 population
Netherlands	3.19 per 100,000 population
Scotland	2.32 per 100,000 population
Ireland (1995)	6.8 per 100,000 population

These figures indicate that Ireland has a significant burden of morbidity and mortality from meningococcal infection when compared to a number of our EU partners. A number of factors may be considered in attempting to explain this. The establishment of the Departments of Public Health and the appointment of specialists with responsibility for infectious disease control has resulted in more effective reporting of the disease which may account for some of the reported increases over the past few years. Furthermore it has been shown in countries where this disease has been efficiently reported and closely monitored over the years that the occurrence of meningococcal infection is cyclical in nature. Increases in incidence may occur periodically without apparent reason, persist for a number of years and then begin to fall again towards previous lower levels.

The protocols which are followed in Ireland in the management of this disease are no different from those used in other countries. The disease will continue to be monitored closely in the future to confirm any trends in its occurrence. The establishment of the Meningococcal Reference Laboratory in Temple Street Children's Hospital will assist in the detailed surveillance of the disease with particular reference to the typing of the organisms. In addition, the working group on bacterial meningitis and related conditions has continued to meet and advise my Department on developments in relation to this condition and has agreed to remain in existence for this purpose.