Bernard Allen
Ceist:276 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will make a statement on the reason the levels of tuberculosis in Ireland do not meet the criteria to terminate the BCG vaccination campaign. [25004/99]
Written Answers. - Tuberculosis Incidence.
The report of the working party on tuberculosis, published in 1996, recognised that while Ireland was close to reaching the WHO criteria for the discontinuance of routine BCG immunisation, it would be a number of years – with the current rate of decline – before it could be anticipated that all of the criteria for discontinuance would be satisfied. The group was also of the opinion that improvements in data collection, surveillance, contact tracing and preventive therapy procedures should take place in order to inform future consideration of the issue.
A national tuberculosis committee, under the chairmanship of my Department's deputy chief medical officer, was established in 1997 to oversee the implementation of the recommendations in the 1996 report and to develop national strategy for the control and management of tuberculosis. The issue of the discontinuance of routine BCG immunisation is among those which the committee will keep under review.