§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (a) what is the incidence of rubella handicapped births and (b) what is the rubella immunisation rate for each of the regional health authorities.
§ Mr. John PattenIn 1983, the latest year for which figures are available from the national congenital rubella surveillance programme, 17 children were born in England with confirmed rubella defects out of 593,255 live births. This may not be the final figure, as the condition is not always diagnosable in the first year of life.
For girls aged 14, the estimated percentage uptake rates of rubella immunisation for 1983 are as follows:
414W
Regional Health Authority Estimated Percentage Northern 92 Yorkshire 87 Trent 89
Regional Health Authority Estimated Percentage East Anglian 83 North West Thames 82 North East Thames 78 South East Thames 75 South West Thames 86 Wessex 89 Oxford 78 South Western 81 West Midlands 85 Mersey 80 North Western 86 England 84