HC Deb 18 December 1996 vol 287 c704W
Mr. Etherington

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the cost to the national health service in 1995 of providing hospital treatment to patients suffering from food poisoning resulting from(a) salmonella, (b) campylobacter, (c) listeria, (d) E. coli 0157 and (e) other causes; and if he will make a statement. [9140]

Mr. Horam

The information requested is not available centrally.

Mr. Gordon Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many E. coli 0157 outbreaks there were in each year since 1990. [9437]

Mr. Horam

The information is as follows:

E. Coli 0157 outbreaks in England and Wales
Year Number of outbreaks
1990 2
1991 5
1992 5
1993 8
1994 5
19951 11
19961 10

Source:

Public health laboratory service.

1Provisional.

Mr. Prentice

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have died from food poisoning in each year since 1990; and, in each case, what was the source of the infection. [9711]

Mr. Horam

Information on the number of people who have died from food poisoning is provided in the following table:

Deaths from food poisoning for England and Wales
Year Number of outbreaks
1990 94
1991 82
1992 118
1993 109
1994 154
1995 203

Notes:

1. The data for 1990–92 represent registrations during the year.

2. The data for 1993 onwards represent occurrences during the year.

3. The introduction of a national case definition for food poisoning in 1992 may also have had the effect of increasing the range of infectious intestinal disease reported as food poisoning.

Information on the source of the infection for each case is not available.

Source:

Office for National Statistics—analysis of causes of death on death certificates.