HC Deb 09 March 1988 vol 129 c247W
Ms. Richardson

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many deaths over the last 10 years have been attributed to having meningococcal septicaemia.

Mrs. Currie

Before 1979, meningococcal septicaemia (ICD (8)1 036.1 Meningococcaemia without mention of meningitis) included Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome. Since 1979, meningococcaemia (ICD (9)1 036.2) and Waterhouse-Friderichsen syndrome, meningococcal (ICD (9)1 036.3) have been coded separately. The table therefore, shows both of these latter conditions from 1979.

Year ICD(8)1036.1 ICD(9)1036.2 ICD(9)1036.3
1978 52
1979 53 12
1980 33 8
1981 40 15
1982 34 15
1983 40 10
1984 47 6
1985 46 14
1986 75 20
19872 71 6
1 International Classification of Diseases 8th and 9th revisions.
2 Provisional—

The 1987 figure for the number of notifications of acute and meningococcal meningitis is provisional as it is based on the notifications reported to OPCS each week. It does not include all late or corrected notifications, and is therefore liable to a small change at a later date.

The annual statistics should be compared with caution as

(i) The 9th revision of the ICD was introduced on 1 January 1979.

(ii) A change in coding was introduced on 1 January 1984.

(iii) Figures for 1986 and 1987 exclude deaths in the first 28 days of life.