HC Deb 08 December 1997 vol 302 cc457-8W
Mr. Hancock

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to combat recent outbreaks of meningitis. [19012]

Ms Jowell

The Department takes meningococcal disease very seriously.

Guidance on the control of meningococcal infection is issued by the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS). The most recent guidelines were issued on 8 December 1995 and guidance on the management of clusters of meningococcal disease was issued in January 1997. Copies of this guidance are sent to all Directors of Public Health and local Consultants in Communicable Disease Control and it is published. The guidance is constantly under review and careful thought is given to whether any lessons can be learnt from any incident and to whether any revision of the guidance might be required. The guidance was last reviewed on 21 November 1997 drawing on recent experiences in Southampton and it was agreed that no change to the guidance was necessary.

PHLS experts are routinely involved in dealing with serious outbreaks of disease. Advice on the diagnosis of meningitis is contained in the Department's memorandum "Immunisation against infectious disease" which is provided free to all doctors. Additionally, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) writes annually to all doctors alerting them to the expected winter rise in cases of meningococcal infection and reminding them of the value of early antibiotic treatment and urgent referral to hospital. The Department contributes to the many information articles in newspapers and the medical press, and television and radio programmes that appear during the winter increase in cases.

The CMO also holds an annual press briefing for journalists to raise public, professional and media awareness of meningococcal disease. This year's briefing was held on 3 November and CMO was supported by representatives of the National Meningitis Trust and the Meningitis Research Foundation. The vital message at the briefing was that, in the absence of an effective meningococcal Group C vaccine suitable for routine use, and with no Group B vaccine at all, it remained essential that parents and, in places of further education, students, are aware of the signs and symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia and remain alert to seek urgent treatment if illness is suspected. Information materials continue to stress this message as well. This year, the Department's information leaflet "Knowing about meningitis and septicaemia" has been rewritten; it is available to the public from general practitioners' surgeries. The Health Education Authority (HEA), funded by the Department, has also relaunched its leaflet, "Look out for your mate", which is targeted at students. This year about 1.2 million "Look out for your mate" fliers and posters were distributed to over 750 colleges in England and Wales; 4,000 leaflets and 40 posters were sent to Southampton University before the recent outbreaks there. Information on recognising the signs and symptoms of meningitis is provided to new parents in the HEA's booklet "A Guide to Childhood immunisations". The Department also provides funding under Section 64 of the Health and Personal Social Services Act to support the work of the two meningitis charities in raising awareness among health care professionals.

Studies to evaluate meningococcal and pneumococcal vaccines in United Kingdom children, funded by the Department at a total cost of over £1 million, are being carried out by the PHLS in collaboration with the National Institute for Biological Standards and Controls, the Centre of Applied Microbiology and Research and the Institute for Child Health. These studies have shown very encouraging results already for Group C vaccines and early indicators for Group B are encouraging. There are reasonable prospects that these vaccines will eventually be able to induce long-term immunity although more research is needed before their suitability for widespread use can he considered.