HC Deb 20 January 1997 vol 288 cc497-8W
Ms. Jowell

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by each regional health authority on(a) conference registration fees, (b)lease cars for

Mr. Horam

The latest figures on the number of confirmed definite and probable cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the United Kingdom, including the new variant, were published in a Department of Health press release on 6 January 1997, copies of which are available in the Library. Figures on suspected cases are not available. The classification of cases changes as the course of the disease proceeds and a definite diagnosis is usually possible only after death. In the past, about half the cases referred to the unit have turned out not to be CJD.

There is still very little known about new variant CJD, including important information on the incubation period, the route of infection, the level of exposure required to cause disease and the role of genetic susceptibility, so it is likely to be some years before we have sufficient information to make firm predictions of future numbers of cases.