§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to authorise a renewal of the programme of tuberculosis vaccinations within secondary schools. [120402]
§ Yvette CooperI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) on 10 February 2000,Official Report, column 261W.
§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the recent trend in the incidence of tuberculosis in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [120371]
§ Yvette CooperThe United Kingdom has an excellent record of tuberculosis (TB) control and we are determined this should remain the case.
The incidence of TB is monitored by the Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS). Official notifications of TB gradually fell to an all time low of 5,086 in England and Wales in 1987 from about 50,000 cases a year in the 1950s and 9,000 cases at the beginning of the 1980s. Since the early 1990s, there have been overall small year on year increases in total notified cases which are continuing. Provisional notifications for 1998 were just over 6,000. While some of this increase may be due to better ascertainment of cases, it has occurred against the backdrop of a worldwide resurgence of this disease that will, inevitably, continue to have some impact on TB in the UK through travel and immigration.
The results of the latest in a series of five-yearly detailed surveys of TB in England and Wales undertaken by the PHLS on behalf of the Department are reported in the Communicable Disease Report Vol. 9, No. 51 (17 December 1999), copies of which are available in the Library.
322W
§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of(a) human tuberculosis (mycobacterium tuberculosis), and (b) bovine tuberculosis (mycobacterium bovis), were confirmed in humans in (i) 1997, (ii) 1998 and (iii) 1999; and if he will make a statement. [120771]
§ Yvette Cooper[holding answer 4 May 2000]: A total of 5,859 cases of tuberculosis were notified in England and Wales in 1997, 6,087 in 1998 and 6,144 in 1999. 3,232 cases were confirmed by culture in 1997 and 3,506 in 1998. Final totals for culture confirmed cases for 1999 are not yet available.
Of the culture confirmed cases, 32 were due to Mycobacterium bovis in 1997, and 29 in 1998. To date, 16 cases due to Mycobacterium bovis have been reported for 1999.
There is no evidence at present that the increase in bovine tuberculosis in cattle has led to an increase in bovine tuberculosis in the local human population.
The number of isolates of M. bovis from human cases of bovine tuberculosis in England and Wales has varied from 22 to 37 per year between 1993 and 1998 with no trend to increase or decrease. The numbers of human cases of M. bovis arising in those regions of England and Wales with the greatest increase in bovine tuberculosis in cattle (South West, Wales and West Midlands) have remained low and have also varied from year to year with no increasing or decreasing trend.
In response to the Krebs Committee report on tuberculosis in cattle and badgers, the Department undertook to continue to monitor the public health impact of M. bovis infection carefully. Measures have been taken to enhance surveillance, particularly in those areas most affected by infection in cattle, and to look at geographical and occupational variations in incidence. Department of Health and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food officials hold regular meetings to keep matters under review with special regard to the potential for M. bovis to infect humans through the United Kingdom food chain and other zoonotic routes.
(Data from the Public Health Laboratory Service. Source: NOIDS database and Mycobnet database as at 3 May 2000 (database kept live)).
§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department routinely records the occupation of people identified as being infected with Bovine TB; and if he will make a statement. [120770]
§ Yvette Cooper[holding answer 4 May 2000]: Information on the occupation of individuals notified with tuberculosis in England and Wales is sought on the standard notification form. This information is used locally.
Reports of M. bovis infections are collated by the Public Health Laboratory Service Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre as part of a scheme called the United Kingdom Mycobacterial Resistance Network (Mycobnet). On receipt of a report of M. bovis infection, a questionnaire is sent to the local Consultant in Communicable Disease Control (CCDC) inquiring, among other things, about whether the individual had an agricultural occupation (including working on a farm) or other animal contact.