Malaria is a serious, sometimes fatal, disease spread by mosquitoes. It is common in many tropical countries and is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium. There are four types of Plasmodium parasites: Plasmodium falciparum, vivax, malariae, and ovale and they are all carried by night-biting Anopheles mosquitoes.

Pregnant women are identified as being one of the groups at highest risk of infection and complications if they catch swine flu. Therefore the Public Health Agency (PHA) strongly recommends that pregnant women receive the vaccination over the summer months to protect themselves and their baby.

The first annual report of the Director of Public Health for Northern Ireland was published today. This significant report highlights the many public health challenges that affect people in Northern Ireland. Dr Carolyn Harper, Director of Public Health leads the public health team that tackles this complex agenda, working with many statutory, community and voluntary partner organizations across health, local government, education, housing and other sectors.

With the school holidays about to start, the Public Health Agency (PHA) wishes to remind parents about the importance of children washing their hands after visiting farms and handling farm animals.

The Public Health Agency has welcomed the publication of research by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister which reveals that poverty here has a real and negative impact on children's outcomes at the age of five. The research examined data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a study following around 19,000 children born in the UK in 2000/2001, of which around 1,800 were from Northern Ireland.