Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to take this debate. I would like the Minister for Health to oversee the introduction of the loop medicated isothermal amplification, LAMP, test in hospitals. The test can provide results detecting the presence of meningitis within an hour, dramatically reducing the time taken to produce a result under the current system. This would allow for life-saving treatment to begin much sooner than currently possible. There are 200 cases of meningitis in Ireland annually. Of these, 10% of patients die, 10% suffer major disabilities such as brain damage or amputations and 33% suffer some form of after-effect. Ireland has one of the highest rates of meningitis in Europe. A child suspected of having the disease is subject to a blood test, the result of which is returned within 48 hours. Consequently, some children at serious risk can be sent home with a disease that could kill within a matter of hours. The LAMP test was developed in Queen's University Belfast. It is a test for meningitis, the result of which is returned within an hour, and it has the potential to save numerous lives every year. It is diagnostically as accurate as the current method but it is much quicker and more straightforward for any hospital with a laboratory. A significant cost would not be incurred and it has been trialled over the past few years by the NHS. It is a no-brainer and I would love to think it will be introduced in Ireland because we have one of the highest rates of meningitis.