§ Mr. Frank CookTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of meningitis have been confirmed over the past six months; how many patients have died; and what were the figures for the same period in 1994–95 in(a)the Tees health authority area and (b) England and Wales. [17590]
§ Mr. HoramProvisional data on notified cases of meningitis and meningococcal disease in Cleveland—and its component authorities—for the last six-month period of 1995 and the corresponding period in 1994 are shown in the tables. Notifications can be made on clinical suspicion alone and it is likely that some notified cases will not have been laboratory confirmed.
The incidence of meningococcal infection usually increases during the winter. In 1995, the rise in cases appears to have come earlier than usual, in December. Though this partly explains the higher 1995 figures for the July to December period, we did see more cases than in 1994 and also an increase in the proportion of the less 674W common group C strain. Nevertheless, the total number of cases and types of meningitis seen in 1995 is not out of line with that experienced in the recent past.
All Meningitis July-December 1994 July-December 1995 Notifications Deaths Notifications Deaths England and Wales 792 88 1,136 120 Hartlepool 0 0 2 0 Langbaurgh on Tees 0 1 6 0 Middlesbrough 1 0 1 1 Stockton on Tees 2 2 3 0 Cleveland total 3 3 12 1
Meningococcal meningitis July-December 1994 July-December 1995 Notifications Deaths Notifications Deaths England and Wales 378 7 537 17 Hartlepool 0 0 0 0 Langbaurgh on Tees 0 0 0 0 Middlesbrough 1 0 0 1 Stockton on Tees 0 0 2 0 Cleveland total 1 0 5 1
Meningococcal septicaemia—without meningitis July-December 1994 July-December 1995 Notifications Deaths Notifications Deaths England and Wales 199 57 327 78 Hartlepool 0 0 3 0 Langbaurgh on Tees 0 0 2 0 Middlesbrough 0 0 0 0 Stockton on Tees 0 0 5 0 Cleveland total 0 0 10 0