Written question asked by Kerry McCarthy (Labour) on Wednesday, 21 June 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 26 June 2006. It was answered by Ivan Lewis (Labour) on Thursday, 29 June 2006 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Streptococcus Testing

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for South Derbyshire (Mr. Todd) of 6 June 2005, Official Report, columns 439-41W, on streptococcus testing, what the findings were of the studies undertaken by the health technology assessment programme on prenatal screening for group B streptococcus.

Answer: The United Kingdom national screening committee has asked the health technology assessment (HTA) programme to undertake two studies on prenatal screening for group B streptococcal disease. These studies are still in progress.The first study is on prenatal screening and treatment strategies to prevent group B streptococcal and other bacterial infections in early infancy: cost effectiveness and expected value of information analyses.The second study is on prenatal screening for group B streptococcal disease: protocol development for a possible clinical trial.Details of all ongoing reports and research outputs can be found on the HTA’s website at www.hta.nhsweb. nhs.uk.

Secondary information