§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what levels of immunisation against TB have been achieved in each of the last three years. [36017]
§ Ms JowellThe number of Bacillus Calmett Guèrin vaccinations is given in the table:
000 Year Number of BCG vaccinations 1994–95 1317 1995–96 576 1996–97 483 1 The school BCG programme for 1994–95 was delayed as a result of the measles/rubella immunisation campaign. Source:
KC 50
Department of Health: Statistics Division SD2B.
433WBCG immunisation is given to school children between the ages of 10 and 14 years as part of the schools programme and at birth to children at higher risk from tuberculosis as part of the selective neonatal programme and opportunistically. It is not, therefore, possible to give an exact figure for the percentage of children immunised.
§ Dr. FoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of(a) TB and (b) drug resistant TB have been reported in the UK in each of the last three years. [36014]
§ Ms JowellThe numbers of notifications of tuberculosis (TB) in the United Kingdom are published in the Annual Abstract of Statistics. Data on TB that is resistant to one or more of the antibiotics normally used to treat TB (drug resistant TB) and on multi-drug resistant TB, i.e. TB that is resistant to isoniazid and rifampicin, the two most effective drugs for treating TB, are collated by the Public Health Laboratory Service on behalf of the United Kingdom Mycobacterial Resistance Network. Information for the years 1994 to 1997 is given in the table.
Tuberculosis (all forms)—Notifications Annual totals by Region, England and Wales, 1988–1997 Health region 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 19971 Anglia and Oxford 268 264 261 268 270 284 256 278 333 319 North Thames 1,304 1,444 1,310 1,525 1,743 1,650 1,759 1,797 1,802 1,986 North West 715 683 743 662 763 787 654 630 581 615 Northern and Yorkshire 625 662 642 725 659 721 584 641 614 617 South and West 296 266 228 227 247 275 273 278 266 282 South Thames 552 569 642 596 625 698 694 642 707 751 Trent 529 492 452 448 421 518 459 506 535 484 West Midlands 671 843 732 819 869 788 730 654 655 610 England 4,960 5,223 5,010 5,270 5,597 5,721 5,409 5,426 5,493 5,664 1 Provisional figures; it is usual for final figures to be lower than provisional figures. Source:
Notifications of Infectious Diseases database, held within Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre
Notifications of TB in England and Wales fell from 49,358 cases in 1950 to their lowest level of 5,085 in 1987. There was a small increase in cases in the early 1990s, but figures have now levelled out. This success is against a worldwide resurgence in TB which is having a small but important impact on trends in the United Kingdom. The UK has an excellent record of TB control and we are determined this should remain the case.