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Neonatal herpes is now 'a notifiable disease', in the hope to raise awareness of risk to newborns

Health Minister Simon Harris signed the Infectious Diseases Regulations 2018 into law today.

MINISTER FOR HEALTH Simon Harris has signed an amendment into law which has made the neonatal herpes simplex virus a notifiable disease.

Harris signed the Infectious Diseases Regulations 2018 in the presence of John and Louise Wills, who lost their infant daughter Eibhlín due to complications arising from the disease.

There are two types of herpes viruses: the first causes ‘common’ cold sores which appear on the face, generally around the lips or nostril; the second is associated with painful blisters or ulcers in, or around, the genital area.

Neonatal HSV can – as in Eibhlín’s case – be fatal. In 85% of cases, it’s transferred from the mother to the baby during delivery. Her parents had previously called for greater awareness about the “entirely preventable” disease.

The Minister said today that “the loss of an infant is something that most of us cannot even begin to come to terms with, much less turn into something positive.

That is what makes the work of both John and Louise so extraordinary and powerful.

“I hope that the inclusion of neonatal herpes simplex among the diseases that are notifiable will help, in some small way, to increase public awareness of this disease and the danger that it can represent to newborns.”

Harris encouraged expectant mothers and future fathers to read Eibhlín’s story and the sensible precautionary measures on the dedicated website set up by John and Louise. 

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    Mute Ordinary Bloke
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    Mar 20th 2023, 8:33 AM

    €17 billion of Credit Suisse bonds got written down to zero overnight. Don’t cry that the institutional bond holders got BURNED; they had for the most part insured this risky debt with credit default swaps. That’s €17 billion that’s not on the head of the Swiss taxpayer; so a proper transfer of risk from the taxpayer to the risk seeking bond holders. There’s no point crying over spilled milk here but the great majority of Anglo Irish bond holders had hedged in the CDS market. That horse has bolted. PS: Journal, are you going to continue deleting my Ukraine posts when all I’m doing is stating facts and, as the penny finally begins to drop, presenting a reasonable alternative view?

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    Mute a politicians promise is as good as a lie
    Favourite a politicians promise is as good as a lie
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    Mar 20th 2023, 10:09 AM

    @Ordinary Bloke: any posts that don’t fit the MSM narrative get deleted.. It’s a form of censorship

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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Mar 20th 2023, 10:35 AM

    @a politicians promise is as good as a lie: their forum, their rules. You should know that by now. You can’t post comments on any other media site. Why isn’t there a national uproar over that!

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    Mute Joe Philips
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    Mar 20th 2023, 10:39 AM

    @Ordinary Bloke: If your view is anything other than “Russia needs to get out of Ukraine and commit to a permanent ceasefire”, then it’s not reasonable and doesn’t deserve a platform.

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    Mute Joe Philips
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    Mar 20th 2023, 10:46 AM

    Also, Putin needs to be surrendered to the Hague to answer for blowing up apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, etc. These things are completely non negotiable and rightly so.

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    Mute David Saunders
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    Mar 20th 2023, 10:19 AM

    If AI is going to take over then it should start with the bankers. They appear to be not fit for purpose. Shower of wasters

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    Mute Sean Salmon
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    Mar 20th 2023, 11:20 AM

    With inflation running amok they can’t print money to get out of the current mess. Banks swapping money to shore up balance sheets has shades of Anglo Irish about it.

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    Mute Tipper Irie
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    Mar 20th 2023, 11:32 AM

    @Sean Salmon: ermmm Quantitive Easing, not relevant to Switzerland, banking scam of the greatest level ever. A Ponzi scheme in any other industry.

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    Mute Handsome McWonderful
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    Mar 20th 2023, 10:35 AM

    Is there anything to be said for another bank guarantee?

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    Mute Garreth mc mahon
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    Mar 20th 2023, 12:00 PM

    @Handsome McWonderful: yes, €£$k off

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    Mute gregory pym
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    Mar 20th 2023, 1:25 PM

    This is only going one way. Regulators learnt nothing from last crash. Bankers realised that they wont carry the can when everything goes south as they got bailed out last time. No moral hazard to worry about. The reality is that investment banking is a big casino with the public picking up the losses. Until bankers start doing time in the big house nothing is going to change. As for getting a conviction that is a remote possibility in this country, in fact you are more likely to win the lotto. There is always a technicality or an invalid warrant to get these carpet baggers off the hook.

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