§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many cases of tuberculosis among the registered homeless have been diagnosed in Wales in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [1575]
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesThe information requested is not available centrally.
696W
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many people have died from tuberculosis in Wales in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [1559]
§ Mr. JonesThe information requested, supplied by the Office for National Statistics, is given in the following list
Deaths from tuberculosis1: Welsh residents, 1986–1995
- 1996: 38
- 1987: 23
- 1988: 35
- 1989: 26
- 1990: 30
- 1991: 29
- 1992: 36
- 1993: 28
- 19942: 25
- 19952:32
1 International Classification of Diseases (9th revision), codes 010–018.2 Figures for 1993 and 1994 represent the number of deaths occurring in each year. All the other figures are the number of deaths registered in the year. Also, new procedures for coding cause of death from 1993 and the absence of medical enquiries mean that figures for 1993 onwards may not be exactly comparable with earlier years.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of school leavers in Wales have been vaccinated against tuberculosis; and if he will make a statement. [1561]
§ Mr. JonesInformation is not available centrally in the form requested. Over the last three financial years, the average number of BCG, tuberculosis, vaccinations given each year to children aged 15 and under in Wales for their individual protection was 24,000. A further 1,2000, on average, were found to have an existing immunity to tuberculosis. For those aged between 10 and 15 years, the number of children in each school year in Wales is between 36,000 and 38,000—provisional January 1996 figures.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many cases of tuberculosis have been diagnosed in Wales in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [1580]
§ Mr. JonesThe information is given in the following table.
697W
Number of cases of tuberculosis notified 1986 251 1987 232 1988 201 I989 210 1990 194 1991 166 1992 205 1993 199 1994 181 1995 184
§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many tuberculosis cases recorded in Wales since 1979 related to(a) children, (b) men and (c) women; and if he will make a statement; [2271]
(2) how many tuberculosis cases have been reported since 1979. [2268]
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesThe information for 1995 is given in the following table.
Number Children 19 Men 92 Women 66 Total1 184 1 Includes age/sex not known. The numbers of notifications of tuberculosis for earlier years, giving an age and sex breakdown, are published in table 4 of "Communicable disease statistics", series MB2—No. 6 for 1979 to No. 21 for 1994—available in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his policy concerning efforts to limit tuberculosis cases in Wales. [2269]
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesThe department has taken a number of measures to combat tuberculosis (TB).
In 1994, the United Kingdom health departments established the interdepartmental working group on TB to consider what further action could be taken to improve current measures to control, and prevent, cases of TB. Two reports emanating from the group, "Recommendations for the prevention and control of TB at local level" and "TB and homeless people" have recently been widely disseminated to the NHS in Wales. In addition, the Department has convened a small working party to consider arrangements for a framework to audit TB, in Wales, including arrangements for diagnosis, reporting and contact tracing. It is anticipated that the audit will be completed by the end of 1997.
Updated guidance on TB with recommendations of persons who should be immunised with BCG vaccine, contained in the UK Health department's memorandum, "Immunisation against Infectious Disease", was issued to the NHS in Wales in September. In particular, this advice recommends the continuation of the school BCG immunisation programme.