§ Mr. Roy Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will investigate the prevalence of the disease Huntingdon's Chorea in Gwent; and what steps are being taken to control it.
§ Mr. Wyn RobertsThe control and treatment of Huntingdon's Chorea in Gwent is for the district health authority. It is a hereditary disease in which children of an affected parent have a 50 per cent. risk of inheriting the disease. The disease is worldwide in distribution. The raised incidence in Gwent arises from a relatively small number of numerically large families.
Huntingdon's Chorea frequently does not manifest itself in individuals until early middle age, by which time children have been born to subsequently affected parents. The control of the disease therefore rests on identification of affected families followed by prematital counselling, contraceptive advice and, if pregnancy occurs, examination early in pregnancy in an attempt to identify affected foetuses. There is unfortunately no known cure for the disease.