§ Miss KirkbrideTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of MMR-V as a childhood inoculation; and what plans he has to introduce it into the NHS. [160419]
§ Miss Melanie Johnson[holding answer 11 March 2004]: MMR-V vaccine does not have a licence from the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) or the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA). Therefore 1821W there has not been assessment of the vaccine and there are no plans to introduce it into the national health service.
§ Miss KirkbrideTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make a statement on chickenpox as a childhood disease; [160420]
(2) what plans he has to make chickenpox a notifiable disease. [160421]
§ Miss Melanie Johnson[holding answer 11 March 2004]: Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV) that most people experience in childhood. Although the chickenpox rash can be uncomfortable, for most children the infection is usually mild.
However, chickenpox disease can be serious in immuno-compromised children where it can cause serious illness and even be fatal.
The risk of chickenpox infection is also serious for pregnant women. If a women contracts chickenpox in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, the foetus may develop abnormalities. A woman developing chickenpox one-week before or after giving birth can pass the disease to her newborn child. Chickenpox is particularly serious in newborn children, and can lead to death.
There are currently no plans to make chickenpox (varicella zoster) a notifiable disease in England and Wales. There are other sources of information currently available on the incidence of chickenpox and deaths. Information on general practitioner consultations due to chicken pox is collected through the Royal College of General Practitioners weekly returns system.