A round-up of other stories in brief
NEW MOTHER BLUES: Many more new mothers may be suffering from post-natal depression (PND) than was originally thought because some are lying to health visitors about their symptoms, a new survey suggests.
The poll for the BBC's Real Story programme revealed that 44 per cent of mothers with the condition lied about their feelings when filling out a special form designed to assess them for PND.
Many said they feared they would be seen as bad mothers if they told the truth about their depression, or would even risk having their child taken away by social services.
The survey, carried out with help from an online support group called Netmums, had responses from 597 depressed mothers.
According to the results, 236 of them said they lied when filling out the "Edinburgh Scale" form, which is often given to new mothers by health visitors.
The findings suggests that sufferers of PND may number far more than the 10 per cent of new mothers who are currently thought to be afflicted.
MRSA DISEASE: The Labour Party spokeswoman on health, Deputy Liz McManus, has called on the Government to make MRSA a notifiable disease under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act.
She said the infection was now reaching epidemic proportions. "Lives have been lost, people's health destroyed," she said.
"An important fact about MRSA is that, although this antibiotic-resistant infection is widely prevalent among the general population, it is particularly dangerous to those whose health is already compromised - precisely the sort of people who are to be found crowded together in hospitals," according to Deputy McManus.
"That makes MRSA a 'workplace disease'. It is very often spread by employees in the course of their work and it worst affects those who are supposed to be benefiting from their work.
"As such, MRSA should, like any other workplace disease, fall under the remit of the Health and Safety Authority," Deputy McManus added.
FLU VACCINATION: The Health Service Executive (HSE) is recommending that workers in close contact with poultry receive vaccination against seasonal (human) influenza.
Vaccination will be provided free by GPs to such workers, including poultry flock owners and their families, poultry veterinary practitioners and poultry advisers.
The HSE points out that the influenza vaccination will protect against seasonal flu, but will not provide protection against avian influenza.
"It is important that workers, in contact with birds, which may become infected with avian influenza, be immune to human influenza infection," the HSE said in a statement yesterday.
"This is to prevent the possibility of infection with human and avian strains of flu at the same time. If this happened, this could lead to the emergence of new strains of flu, which may be more infectious to humans and which could start a flu pandemic," according to the statement.
ETHNIC HEALTHCARE: A new resource, designed to assist GPs in the provision of primary healthcare consultations with members of ethnic communities, has been launched by the Health Service Executive (HSE) in association with the Berkeley Clinic and the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP).
Medical Translations, a booklet containing basic consultation information translated into eight languages, was developed by Dr Eugene O'Connor of the Berkeley Clinic in Dublin.
Dr O'Connor identified a need for the resource when working with members of the ethnic community in his own practice.
Having used translations to good effect for two years, he then approached the HSE and the ICGP with a view to making the resource available in the community.
Now the resource is being distributed to every registered GP in the country.
Speaking at the launch of the publication, Tadhg O'Brien, assistant national director for primary, community and continuing care, HSE, said: "This medical translations publication enables the client to make decisions around their own health and eliminates what can be a major barrier to healthcare for first-time clients for whom English is not a first language."
MOBILE FEARS: Health fears top a list of parental concerns about children's mobile phone use in Britain, according to new research.
Only 2 per cent of 1,232 adults questioned had no worries at all about under-10s having mobiles. The impact of radio frequency emissions on health was the prime concern for 35 per cent of respondents. Despite their fears, 89 per cent of respondents said they would give their child a mobile phone to improve personal safety, if they could restrict its use.