The HSE is planning a number of significant initiatives to mark the fourth annual European Antibiotic Awareness Day, which takes place in November.

The flu season is here and at risk groups are being urged to get the influenza vaccine.

Guidelines on diagnosis and management of urinary tract infection in elderly residents of long term care facilities in Ireland have been published.

Influenza activity in Ireland during the 2010/2011 was moderate, according to Health Protection Surveillance Centre.

In 2010, the reported incidence of VTEC infection in Ireland fell by 17% overall, with the VTEC O157 rate decreasing by 30% when compared to 2009..

Feedback is being sought on new draft guidelines for the early clinical and public health management of bacterial meningitis - including meningococcal disease.

A safe patient course, Healthcare - associated Infection Prevention and Control for All, took place recently in Cork.

Eighty six percent of measles cases reported in Ireland this year occurred in the eastern part of the country. 

French authorities have reported eight cases of botulism in French adults in France, all of whom  required hospitalisation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the USA has recently published a report on clusters of acute respiratory illness associated with Human Enterovirus 68 (HEV68) in Asia, Europe and the United States.  The report  highlights HEV68 as an increasingly recognised cause of respiratory illness.

Read the latest reports and information on www.hpsc.ie