The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) monitors rates of TB in Ireland on an on-going basis and identifies any increases in rates or clusters of the disease. According to data provided by the HPSC TB notifications in Ireland between 2001 and 2005 were as shown in the following table.
Year
|
Number of cases
|
Crude Rate per 100,000 population
|
2001
|
381
|
9.7
|
2002
|
408
|
10.4
|
2003
|
407
|
10.4
|
2004 (provisional)
|
432
|
11.0
|
2005 (provisional)
|
461
|
11.8
|
In 2003, 407 cases of TB were notified to HPSC giving a national crude incidence rate of 10.4/100,000 population. This is very similar to the rate notified in 2002 and 2001. However, it remains lower than the crude incidence rates reported between 1991 and 1999, which ranged from 11.5/100,000 to 18.5/100,000. The overall notification rate for countries of the EU and Western Europe in 2003 was 13.6/100,000, for countries which reported to EuroTB. The highest rate reported was in the Baltic States (47.0-82.0/100,000).