109 Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Health the number of sufferers of asthma recorded in each of the years 1975, 1985 and 1995; the areas of the country that showed the biggest increase; and the statistics, if any, available to indicate the areas where there are more likely to be sufferers, such as urban-rural, inland-seaboard, suburbscity centre, houses-apartment and so on. [13499/96]

Limerick East): Precise medical diagnosis of asthma can often be problematic, and the term is frequently used to cover a range of respiratory conditions including bronchitis. In addition, asthma is not a notifiable disease, and most cases are treated by general practitioners rather than in hospitals. For these reasons, national figures on the prevalence of asthma in the community are not available.