§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list by year for the last five years and by regional health authority the number of babies that have had blood samples taken and been found to be HIV positive.
§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyThe table shows the annual national totals reported to the communicable disease surveillance centre. In line with the procedure followed in reports under the AIDS (Control) Act, and to safeguard confidentiality actual figures in the range of one to nine diagnosed in individual regional health authorities are not published.
Reported HIV antibody positive persons aged less than one year1 Number 1985 1 1986 5 1987 9 1988 16 1989 11 1990 5 1 It should be noted that a positive test from a newborn baby indicates that the mother is infected but whether or not the baby is infected cannot be confirmed by antibody tests for some months.