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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, May 19th 2024 - 03:53 UTC

Health & Science

  • Saturday, March 2nd 2024 - 10:28 UTC

    First case of autochthonous dengue reported in Uruguay

    The Montevideo resident was in Maldonado at the time of the detection but has been discharged from hospital

    Uruguay's Health Ministry confirmed Friday the first case of autochthonous dengue in the country. There are currently 32 confirmed cases of imported infections, according to Montevideo outlets. The last autochthonous case in Uruguay dates back to 2020 and only three detections were registered in the country in the past four years.

  • Friday, March 1st 2024 - 09:49 UTC

    Brazil surpasses 1 million probable cases of dengue this year

    Brazil could have twice as many dengue cases this year as in 2023, Trinidade said

    Brazil has recorded 1,017,278 probable cases of dengue and 214 confirmed deaths from the disease so far this year, Agencia Brasil reported Thursday. Another 687 fatalities are under investigation.

  • Friday, March 1st 2024 - 05:00 UTC

    Cuban government begs UN food program for milk to feed children

    The World Food Program said it received an unprecedented official request from the Cuban government for help providing powdered milk to children

    The Cuban government has asked the UN's food program for help as food shortages on the Communist-run island worsen. The World Food Program (WFP) said it had received an unprecedented official request from the Cuban government for help providing powdered milk to children under seven years of age.

  • Wednesday, February 28th 2024 - 10:51 UTC

    Almost all of Peru under dengue health emergency

    According to the Peruvian government, the high temperatures caused by the El Niño phenomenon cause the larvae of the mosquito that causes dengue to reproduce in greater numbers.

    Peruvian authorities declared a state of health emergency in 20 of the country's 25 regions due to an outbreak of dengue fever. ”Tomorrow 20 regions of the country will be declared in sanitary emergency for a period of 90 days due to (the cases of) dengue,” Prime Minister Alberto Otárola announced. The state of health emergency allows the authorities to grant a larger budget to combat the disease, among other measures.

  • Tuesday, February 27th 2024 - 20:27 UTC

    Scientific teams conclude summer studies at Antarctica’s giant Thwaites Glacier

    A field camp at T2 on Thwaites Glacier. Pic Marianne Karplus.

    Teams of scientists and support staff with the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration, (ITGC) have spent the past couple of months working on the Thwaites Glacier to advance our knowledge of how it interacts with the ocean and climate, and improve the predictions of its future contributions to sea level rise.

  • Monday, February 26th 2024 - 11:23 UTC

    English tourist dies during flight from Falklands to Punta Arenas

    The Falkland Islands MPA International airport

    A British passenger flying with his wife from the Falkland Islands to Punta Arenas arrived dead at the Chilean airport. The 59-year-old English tourist and his wife were planning to catch a connecting flight to Santiago de Chile.

  • Thursday, February 22nd 2024 - 10:21 UTC

    WHO warns against an increase in the number of cases of measles

    Crowcroft spoke of huge underreporting of the total number of cases worldwide

    The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned this week of a 79% global increase in the number of cases of measles, “a childhood illness caused by a virus that easily spreads among people and can be very harmful to children,” of which over 300,000 detections were recorded last year.

  • Wednesday, February 21st 2024 - 08:58 UTC

    Argentina: Alberto Fernández partly to blame for dengue crisis, Spokesman Adorni says

    Under Fernández, the Health Ministry “was evidently conspicuous by its absence,” Adorni stressed

    Argentine Presidential Spokesman Manuel Adorni Tuesday blamed the administration of Alberto Fernández (2019-2023) for “much of the problem” stemming from a spread of dengue fever in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA). Adorni spoke of a “failure” in public policies under the previous government regarding the current mosquito invasion.

  • Tuesday, February 20th 2024 - 10:27 UTC

    Buenos Aires under heavy mosquito invasion

    The Aedes albifasciatus species is not the one that spread the dengue virus

    In Argentina, the City and Province of Buenos Aires are going through a “peak of abundance” of the Aedes albifasciatus mosquito, which has led specialists to recommend the citizenry to up all preventive measures and use repellents, mosquito nets, and wear long-sleeve clothing. These insects are said to be behind the spread of the Western Equine Encephalitis virus (WEE).

  • Tuesday, February 20th 2024 - 07:18 UTC

    Positive avian flu confirmed in wandering albatross in South Georgia

    Wandering albatross have tested positive for avian flu on Bird Island (Photo: Richard Phillips, BAS)

    Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) continues to affect the wildlife on the sub-antarctic islands of South Georgia. The latest results from samples taken from the islands reveal that the disease has now been detected in the wandering albatross (as at 9 February 2024).