§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the United Kingdom resulted from contaminated implements during surgical procedures. [12493]
§ Ms JowellIn the United Kingdom two incidents involving a total of three patients are known where Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is presumed to have been transmitted by neurosurgical instruments. Both incidents occurred in the 1950s.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish his Department's latest figures for trends in suspected and confirmed cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the United Kingdom. [12492]
§ Ms JowellThe latest figures on the number of cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, including new variant CJD, in the United Kingdom were published in a Department of Health press release on 6 October 1997, copies of which have been placed in the Library.
The fifth annual report of the national Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease surveillance unit published on 15 September 1997 showed that there has been an increase in the number of cases of classic sporadic CJD recorded in England and Wales for the period 1970 to April 1996, with the greatest increase reported in those over the age of 75. Substantial increases in the reported incidence of classic CJD have also been observed in other countries which monitor the disease, including countries where bovine spongiform encephalopathy is rare or absent. These increases are most likely to reflect improved case ascertainment, especially in the older age groups, rather than a real increase in the disease.