The Food Safety Promotion Board safefood today issued a report highlighting the need for a food safety system for the whole island of Ireland.

A SECOND warning has been issued to stop selling an infant milk formula because the product could still be in stock at some hospitals and pharmacies.

Immunisation against infectious disease has saved more lives than any other public health intervention in Irish history, apart from providing clean water, it was claimed today.

ALCOHOL abuse is leading to the sharp rise in sexually transmitted infections (STI), which are now at their highest-ever recorded level, Health Minister Mary Harney said yesterday.

The annual report from the National Disease Surveillance Centre (NDSC) contains worrying statistics on the increase in the number of sexually transmitted infections in Ireland.

Health Minister Mary Harney has promised to take action to tackle the spread of the MRSA "superbug" in Irish hospitals and nursing homes.

The number of HIV cases diagnosed in Ireland rose by more than 10% last year, according to figures published today by the National Disease Surveillance Centre.

A new report from the National Disease Surveillance Centre has revealed that the MRSA superbug (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) is widespread in most of Ireland's major hospitals.

Kieran McDaid

The National Disease Surveillance Centre is investigating an outbreak of the mumps at three colleges in Westmeath, Donegal and Kildare.

FEARS of contamination have caused a significant delay in the supply of flu vaccine nationwide and could cost Irish business millions of euro in lost production.

Blood donation restrictions were tightened today after warnings in Britain that vCJD can be transmitted through transfusions.

DR MOSNEY ASYLUM, the medic who appeared to receive €4,940 for treating asylum seekers, is fictional and so was the payment made to him.

STAFF who handle food could pose a health risk to consumers if they are ill or do not wash their hands, experts warned yesterday.

Catering firms responsible for food poisoning will have nowhere to hide this summer, a health protection group warned today.

The National Disease Surveillance Centre has warned Irish tourists to take extra precautions against the West Nile Virus when travelling abroad.

An expert with the National Disease Surveillance Centre has reportedly identified hospital overcrowding as one of the main reasons for the spread of the MRSA “superbug”.

PARENTS have been warned to vaccinate their children against whooping cough after more than a dozen suspected cases were discovered in Limerick and Clare.

UP TO 23 GAA clubs, many of them underage, have been warned players may have been exposed to E coli infection following an outbreak at a club.

PEOPLE arriving in Ireland from sub-Saharan Africa must be encouraged to undergo tests for HIV, Fine Gael said yesterday.

The National Disease Surveillance Centre has confirmed that the number of newly-diagnosed HIV cases in Ireland increased by 10% last year.

Figures due to be published today have reportedly highlighted an increase in new HIV cases in Ireland last year.

The number of sexually transmitted infections treated in Ireland increased by 7.9% in 2002, according to figures released today by the National Disease Surveillance Centre.

THE epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among teenagers will continue to rage unless treatment services are expanded and properly resourced, doctors have warned.

IRELAND remains vulnerable to a major mumps outbreak because of the disappointingly low uptake of the vaccine, a doctor warned yesterday.

Evelyn Ring

Two specific batches of a rabies vaccine have been recalled from the Irish market as part of a worldwide recall by French company Aventis Pasteur MSD Limited.

A case of Legionnaire's disease has been confirmed in Kilkenny.

NEW cases of HIV infection in Ireland rose significantly in the first half of last year, according to figures published yesterday.

A FRESH outbreak of the winter vomiting virus has hit one of the largest hospitals in the north west.

More than 200 new cases of HIV were reported in Ireland in the first half of last year, according to figures published today by the National Disease Surveillance Centre.

THERE were 14 deaths from meningitis last year — up two on 2002 — a reminder we can never become complacent, Minister of State at the Department of Health Ivor Callely warned yesterday.

MENINGITIS C has almost been eradicated since a national vaccination programme was implemented three years ago.

ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANT superbugs are killing patients, Dr Robert Cunney of the National Disease Surveillance Centre claimed yesterday.

FOUR children in the last three years were born here with syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease they inherited from their mothers.

The number of cases of meningitis in Ireland has fallen dramatically thanks to the national vaccination programme introduced in October 2000.

AN eight-month investigation into how a mother of seven died after contracting Legionnaire’s Disease while in hospital recommends that air, water and surface environments in hospitals should be regularly monitored.

CHILDREN under the age of four are at most risk from a potentially fatal flu virus, according to figures released yesterday.

An 18-month old boy has become the first victim in Ireland of the virulent form of the flu, it was confirmed today.

FLU sufferers have been warned not to misuse supermarket-purchased remedies to fight the illness.

THE Irish Nurses’ Organisation (INO) has warned that A&E services will be stretched beyond breaking point in hospitals if an outbreak of influenza which is sweeping the country gets worse.

A SEVERE form of influenza is sweeping the country and those regarded as high risk have been advised to get immediate vaccination.

Cases of flu in Ireland have more than doubled in the past fortnight and it is estimated there are now 70 cases for every 100,000 people.

IRELAND is facing a measles epidemic this winter unless parents stop boycotting the MMR jab.