Vol. 494 No. 4
296 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Health and Children, if his attention has been drawn to recent media reports (details supplied) concerning the incidence of Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease in Ireland; whether incidences of Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease are routinely notified to his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18477/98]
I refer the Deputy to my reply to Question No. 443 of 30 September 1998. In the interests of maintaining confidentiality in relation to individual patients, I am not in a position to comment on cases referred to in the newspaper report cited by the Deputy. However, I wish to confirm that no case of new variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease has been diagnosed in Ireland.
All cases of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease are reported to my Department through an active surveillance system involving two neuropathology centres, one in Dublin and one in Cork. Reporting is retrospective because diagnosis of the disease is made by post-mortem examination.
