§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if her Department monitors the rates of abnormalities of the genital tract in male babies on a continual basis; and if she will make available the most recent statistics. [15957]
§ Mr. SackvilleSince 1964, the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys has run the national congenital malformation notification scheme. The data for this scheme are received on a voluntary basis from district health authorities. Until 31 December 1994, data were requested for all babies where the malformation was identified at or within 10 days of birth. This time limit has since been removed. Data are routinely collected on hypospadias1 and epispadias—the most commonly visible malformations of the male genital tract. The most recent statistics are shown in the table.
Notification of male babies born with hypospadias1 and epispadias in England and Wales, 1992 and 1993
Rates per 10,000 male live and still births
Year Number Rate 1992 532 15.0 1993 533 15.3 1 Excludes hypospadias when the meatus lies before the coronary sulcus.