The Public Health Agency (PHA) is using Bowel Cancer Awareness Month (1-30 April) to encourage everyone who is eligible to make use of the bowel cancer screening programme, and to be aware of the early signs and symptoms of the disease. Dr Tracy Owen, Consultant in Public Health Medicine at the PHA, said: “Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers in Northern Ireland with about 1,200 people diagnosed with the disease each year. However, the good news is that the earlier bowel cancer is detected, the more successful the treatment is likely to be.

Lambing season is well under way and the Public Health Agency (PHA) is reminding pregnant women about the risk of close contact with sheep during lambing season. The PHA is advising women who are, or think they may be pregnant, to reduce their risk of miscarriage and infection by avoiding close contact with sheep during lambing season, which runs until around the end of April.

On World TB Day (Friday 24 March), the Public Health Agency (PHA) is reminding everyone of the importance of preventing transmission of tuberculosis and how to recognise its symptoms early. Dr Michael Devine, Consultant in Health Protection at the PHA, said: “TB remains an important global and local public health issue. People may think of TB as a disease of the past but there are more than 10 million new cases of TB globally each year with more than one million deaths, mostly in developing countries.

New statistics from the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry show that there has been an increase in the number of men diagnosed with the most serious skin cancer, malignant melanoma. However, the good news is that more cases were detected early, when there is a greater likelihood of successful treatment. In 2015 there were 209 cases of malignant melanoma in males in Northern Ireland, which is higher than previous years.

This Salt Awareness Week (20-26 March) the Public Health Agency (PHA) is reminding everyone of the dangers of eating too much salt and asking everyone to check food labels to see how much salt is in our food. Too much salt in our diet can contribute to high blood pressure – also known as hypertension – and increase the risk of stroke and heart disease, some of the leading causes of disability and death in Northern Ireland. Hypertension often has no symptoms, but if you have the condition, you are more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke.