BREAST cancer death rates in west Hertfordshire are among the worst in the country, with one woman dying every three days from the killer disease.

Of the 46,000 women aged between 50 and 64 invited for screening over a three-year period, seven every month are diagnosed with breast cancer.

But the actual numbers suffering could be even higher, as an average 12,000 invited for screening fail to take up the service.

The figures are included in a joint annual report from West Herts Health Authority and Hertfordshire County Council.

A health authority spokesman said a percentage of women dying from breast cancer had been screened but no figures were available for the number of women dying from breast cancer who have not actually been diagnosed.

'One woman every three days does die of breast cancer but west Hertfordshire's survival rate for those diagnosed is better than the national average, at 77 per cent'' she said.

'However, we don't know the exact reasons why breast cancer happens more commonly in higher income areas.

'Hopefully everybody knows the whole purpose of screening - if picked up early there's a much stronger chance of survival,' she said.

In a bid to improve the detection figures, the authority has introduced more mobile screening units to increase the number of women having potentially life-saving checks, including one-stop breast clinics in St Albans.

Pilot schemes are also screening women aged 65 to 69, where those over 64 were only previously screened on their request.

The service is also reviewing the possible extension of double-view mammography to each visit, rather than only the first visit at present.

The annual report also shows heart disease kills around 350 people under 75 each year, making it the biggest single cause of preventable premature death.

Local rates are better than the national average and have been improving over the past five years.

But there remains a north-south split in coronary heart disease figures, with St Albans and Harpenden having the fewest cases at 62 per 100,000, and Hertsmere the most with 84.

The authority is aiming to cut deaths by 140 per year within ten years by introducing Smoking Cessation units and targeting resources at areas of greatest need - deprived wards of Watford, Hertsmere and Three Rivers.

The most effective ways to cut risk are to stop smoking, take more exercise, eat healthier food and lose excess weight.

The report also highlights the dangers of gastrointestinal infections - estimating that for every case diagnosed, a further 135 cases go unreported.

There were 58 salmonella cases diagnosed in St Albans in 1999.

Only 23 per cent of cases detected are contracted through foreign travel, and the authority has issued guidelines on safe eating and drinking for those going abroad.

Contaminated food may look, taste and smell normal, and people are advised to eat freshly prepared, well-cooked and piping hot food, drink bottled water if unsure of local supplies and to wash hands before eating or handling food.