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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 5 Apr 2000

Vol. 517 No. 4

Written Answers. - Tuberculosis Incidence.

Ivor Callely

Ceist:

182 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Health and Children if there has been a noticeable increase in the incidence of tuberculosis; the actual increase in each health board area; the likely cause of such increase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10145/00]

The most recent complete annual statistics on the incidence of tuberculosis in Ireland relate to 1998 and these indicate that, nationally, there were 424 cases of the disease in that year. Up to the mid-1990s there had been a steady decline in the incidence of this disease. Since then, the number has remained at 400-500 cases per year.

The number of cases by health board for the years 1997 and 1998 are contained in the following table. Provisional figures for the number of cases in each health board area in 1999 are also indicated. These will be the subject of validation in the course of the year and, in the case of the North-Eastern Health Board, are not yet complete.

1997

1998

1999

EHB

128

152

189

MHB

19

10

15

MWHB

40

40

62

NEHB

28

29

13(January-June only)

NWHB

22

19

19

SEHB

50

35

30

SHB

90

78

75

WHB

39

54

59

Total

416

424

462

When the 1999 data have been validated, a detailed analysis will be undertaken by the National Disease Surveillance Centre and this will enable comparisons to be made with previous years' data. The increase in cases in the Eastern Health Board area in 1999 can be ascribed in part to an increase in the number of tuberculosis cases occurring in non-nationals.
The Health Act, 1947, and the Infectious Diseases Regulations, 1981, provide the legislative basis for the control of infectious diseases, including tuberculosis, in Ireland.
The report of the Working Party on Tuberculosis, which had been established to evaluate policy on the prevention and treatment of the disease in Ireland and to make appropriate recommendations, was published in 1996. The report makes recommendations for the prevention and treatment of the disease. The recommendations cover a range of issues including epidemiology, surveillance, screening, preventative therapy, clinical management and laboratory diagnosis. As recommended in the report, a permanent committee, the National Tuberculosis Committee, has been established to advise on a detailed national strategy for the control and management of tuberculosis and it is currently developing such a strategy.
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