§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the resistance of tuberculosis to drugs; and if he will make a statement. [18399]
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§ Mr. BoatengThe Department has not directly commissioned any research into the resistance of tuberculosis to drugs. The main agency through which the Government support medical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC). The MRC is an independent body which receives its grant-in-aid from the Office of Science and Technology, which is part of the Department of Trade and Industry. The MRC supports a number of studies into tuberculosis and these take the form of both grants to Universities and research funded in its own Units and Institutes. In 1995–96, the MRC's spend on tuberculosis research was £1.5 million. However, little of this research addresses the issue of drug resistancedirectly; it is largely basic research which will underpin and inform future work in the area.
The Department and its expert advisers do keep under review the results of studies in this field.
The Public Health Laboratory Service, together with similar organisations throughout the United Kingdom, has heightened its surveillance of drug resistance in tuberculosis. An Expert Working Group has been set up under the Interdepartmental Working Group on Tuberculosis to make recommendations for the prevention and control of tuberculosis in immunocompromised patients and of drug resistant tuberculosis. Consultation on its draft guidance has been completed and the final report is expected to be issued shortly.