§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the numbers of HIV/AIDS centres in Britain which he has visited; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellorI have visited the Kobler centre, at St. Stephen's hospital, and London Lighthouse—the two facilities in London purpose-built for people with HIV disease. I have visited some and intend to visit other hospitals and voluntary organisations which are developing treatment and support facilities; not all of these will be dedicated to people with HIV.
§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people died as a result of AIDS, from 1980 to 1988; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellorThere have been 1,059 known deaths from AIDS from 1980 up to the end of December 1988. Data on the numbers of deaths from AIDS and numbers of AIDS cases are published early each month by our Department.
§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his Department's support for AIDS education campaigns organised by groups representing homosexual men and women.
§ Mr. MellorWe provide financial support to the National AIDS Trust which gives funding to voluntary organisations, and to the Terrence Higgins Trust whose work includes the provision of information and advice to homosexuals. In addition the Health Education Authority has been provided with funds to develop campaigns aimed at the general public and at particular sections of the population, including homosexual and bisexual men. Planning guidelines issued to health authorities in July786W 1988 asked them to encourage preventive initiatives for people in selected target groups, including homosexuals, to encourage them to avoid behaviour that might place them at risk of HIV infection.
§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the provision within the National Health Service of aerosolised pentamidine and associated nebolisers for people with AIDS or who are HIV positive.
§ Mr. MellorPentamidine is available under the NHS in aerosolised form for the treatment of pneumocystis carinii pneumonia—the opportunistic infection to which people with HIV disease are particularly susceptible. Nebulisers are available for the administration of the drug in hospital settings, but are not available under the NHS for use by patients at home.
§ Mr. VazTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his estimate of(a) current figures and (b) future figures for (i) people who are HIV anti-body positive and (ii) people who have developed AIDS in the United Kingdom for each year from 1989 to 1992; and on what basis such estimates have been made.
§ Mr. MellorThere have been 2,049 reported AIDS cases up to the end of January 1989. The report of the working group on short-term prediction of HIV infection and AIDS in England and Wales, chaired by Sir David Cox (the Cox report), estimated that there were between 20,000 and 50,000 persons infected with HIV by the end of 1987.
The Cox report also contained estimates of future diagnoses of new AIDS cases up to 1992. The figures in the table are those recommended as a basis for planning, and accepted by the Government as such, for the years 1989 to 1992.
787W
AIDS cases diagnosed (estimates) Number 1989 1,800 1990 2,350 1991 2,950 1992 3,600 The group did not make forecasts of the level of HIV infection because no satisfactory historical data exists upon which to base any, and because such forecasts would depend on individuals' behaviour patterns which cannot be predicted.
The basis on which the estimates were made, and the possible impact of underreporting, are set out in appendices to the Cox report, a copy of which is in the Library.