An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a widening of the main artery in the body, as it passes through the abdomen. The walls of the artery weaken, causing it to balloon out. It is more common in older men, smokers, people with high blood pressure and people with other cardiovascular diseases. 

Quarterly reports

Clostridium difficile

2018 C.difficile surveillance quarterly reports can be found here

C.difficile surveillance report quarter October-December 2017.pdf

What is vaccination coverage?

Vaccination coverage refers to the number of people who receive vaccines as part of different immunisation programmes. These programmes help protect individuals and communities from serious disease.

Vaccination programmes include:

Over the past many years, there have been impressive social economic and health improvements in Northern Ireland. People from every class and region are healthier and living longer than ever before. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to share the benefits of these improvements. It is essential that everyone is empowered and encouraged to do so.

Health inequalities are unacceptable. Tackling health inequalities is one of the top priority areas for the health protection service and is focused on:

The Blood Borne Virus/STI team

The blood-borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) team is responsible for surveillance and control activities for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, syphilis, chlamydia and other sexually transmitted infections. As these are all largely preventable by avoiding risks, and in the case of hepatitis B, by vaccination, we work with a wide range of partners to reduce the numbers of people infected and ensure good treatment. 

Public health surveillance is the continuous process of collection, analysis and interpretation of data, and the subsequent dissemination of this information to policy makers, healthcare and other professionals.

The remit of the gastroenteritis and port health team extends to the following areas: