February, as ever, brings us St Valentine's Day and everyone in the Aurora office has been feeling the love since the birth of our new I Love PR campaign. But matters of the heart are not the only ones with which we are concerned. We keep an eye on all areas of anatomical and mental health, and their coverage in the media. This month has seen some interesting therapeutic areas active in the media.

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February has brought a lot of movement in the Aurora top 20 chart. Cancer has finally been knocked off the top spot after a hat-trick of months as the most covered therapeutic area. Nutrition is back at number one as the Government's Change4Life campaign gets under way and diet is being more closely linked than ever to multiple health issues. As coverage reduces on the significant story of false links between MMR and autism, and several other areas dropped off the bottom of the chart, space has been made for seven re-entries this month including cholesterol, dementia, stroke and dental issues. And, on a positive note, as the weather warmed up a bit in February, the norovirus has lost its spot on the chart and influenza has dropped right down to nineteenth place from number three.

Pregnancy. A story that caught everyone's attention at Aurora was the news that a 13-year-old boy had fathered a child. It has fuelled ethical debate on the subject of teenage pregnancy to which our MD Claire has contributed thoughtfully in our new blog. Although the media reported statistics this month that teenage pregnancies are at their lowest in this country in 20 years, dropping 13% since 1998, we are also greeted with the news that a Department of Health report has indicated that England has the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in the whole of western Europe. In response to this, the Government pledges to halve the teenage conception rate by 2011 with major spending on family planning. With conversation over multiple pregnancies arising this month as well, pregnancy has risen to number three on the chart, its highest position since November 2008.

Fertility/IVF. After a woman became the second in US recorded history to give birth to eight healthy babies as a result of IVF treatment, assisted conception and fertility issues in general have received a lot of coverage this month, sending this therapeutic area up the table to fifth place. The miracle octuplets in the US sparked a row over recent trends among (even fertile) women to have experimental levels of IVF treatment with uncertain results. Shortly after this event, news came through that a British woman had become the world's first to conceive by way of a new IVF technique involving scanning every chromosome in the egg. Successes like this will bring happiness to many prospective families but there is worry that IVF is being used flippantly and that consequent multiple births are unnatural. With the Government taking action on pregnancy and IVF issues, these topics may remain in the chart for months to come.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) makes its second ever appearance in the Aurora top 20 this month, last reaching the chart at number 14 in September 2008. Now firmly in the top 10, MS is reaching the health news through a number of positive channels. News from the pharmaceutical industry has been prolific as successful MS drugs have increased revenue for more than one pharma company. Additionally, a ray of sunshine has fallen on the MS community as vitamin D, which we receive from sunlight, has been heralded as a preventative treatment for the condition. What's more, after discovering that MS is more prevalent in cold climates, scientists have theorised that giving vitamin D supplements to all pregnant women could reduce the chances of their offspring being affected by 80%.

Dental Issues is an unfamiliar therapeutic area in the Aurora top 20 but has reached fifteenth spot this month as the media really got their teeth into a number of dental issues. The slightly humorous but widely reported claim that three million people in the UK have tried DIY dental techniques, such as pliers and string tied to door handles, was refuted by chief dental officer, Barry Cockcroft. Mr Cockcroft was also in the news proposing the benefits to national dental health of a new government scheme of mass fluoridation of the UK water system. The major story in this area however, was a harrowing and regrettable report of an eight-year-old girl with a morbid fear of the dentist's chair who starved to death after having teeth removed because she refused to open her mouth to eat, drink or speak. The NHS has since apologised for the tragedy and admitted that the girl received substandard care. It is interesting how an area such as dental issues can bite a chunk out of the health coverage because of the simultaneous arrival of various unconnected stories.

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Aurora strives to apply quantitative, qualitative and emotional understanding of health issues to client communication programmes. Dove-tailing informed PR activity with the media's appetite enables us to assist clients with communicating their vision.

To find out more, contact Neil Crump or Claire Eldridge on +44 (0) 20 7424 7940.

The top 20 chart provides our interpretative snap-shot of health stories in the national press and is based upon a quantitative process. Analysis based on news from the 26 January to 25 February 2009.