Written question asked by Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative) on Friday, 6 October 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 9 October 2006. It was answered by Caroline Flint (Labour) on Wednesday, 18 October 2006 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Tuberculosis Research Strategy

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made towards establishing a national audit of treatment failures and deaths from tuberculosis.

Answer: The Health Protection Agency are currently improving their enhanced tuberculosis surveillance system to provide more accurate data and analysis on treatment outcome. These data will be used to inform the development of a national audit of treatment failures, which is currently under consideration.A summary of the results of monitoring for treatment outcomes for cases of tuberculosis reported in 2003 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland was published in the Communicable Disease Report Weekly on 13 July 2006. A copy has been placed in the Library and is available on the Health Protection Agency’s website at www.hpa.org.uk/cdr/archives/2006/cdr2806.pdf. Data for 2004 is scheduled to be published in November 2006.Data on deaths is provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Tables have been placed in the Library and are available on the HPA website at www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/tb/epidemiology/tables.htm#mort. These data are updated by ONS annually, usually in the first quarter of the following year.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 91853; 450 c1331-2W;450 c1337-8W
Session: 2005-06
Related items: Deposited Paper DEP 06/2095
Wednesday, 18 October 2006
Deposited papers
House of Commons
Subjects: Tuberculosis
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk