HC Deb 10 June 1998 vol 313 c603W
Mr. Colvin

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will estimate how many NHS patients are currently suffering from potentially fatal diseases caught while travelling overseas; [44689]

(2) what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of treating United Kingdom citizens for potentially fatal diseases caught while travelling overseas in the last year for which figures are available. [44699]

Ms Jowell

Estimates are not available of the cost to the National Health Service of treating United Kingdom citizens for potentially fatal diseases caught while travelling overseas. It is not possible to estimate reliably how many NHS patients are currently suffering from potentially fatal diseases actually caught while travelling overseas, since many diseases which could be caught overseas can also be caught in the UK and it is often impossible to identify where a patient contracted an illness.

Mr. Colvin

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his Department's estimate of the number of United Kingdom citizens making overseas trips in 1997 to areas at risk to potentially fatal diseases. [44700]

Ms Jowell

The Office for National Statistics advise that, during 1997, 46.8 million United Kingdom residents made visits abroad, of which 5.4 million were to areas outside North America and Western Europe (preliminary figures).

There is the risk of contracting a potentially fatal disease anywhere in the world.