A video has been produced to alert people to the signs and symptoms of meningococcal meningitis.
Ireland has one of the highest rates of this form of meningitis in Europe, with an incidence four times the European average. Yet most cases occur in isolation, with less than five per cent arising when the victim has been in contact with another case.
Narrated by doctor and swimming star, Dr Gary O'Toole, the video features an interview with a mother who lost her three-year-old daughter to the disease, and another with a teenager who recovered.
It will be available through health board networks, in Xtravision branches and in public libraries.