The World Health Organization has launched a warning about the rapid spread of the NB.1.8.1 variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has been detected so far in at least 22 countries, including Egypt, Thailand, the Maldives, and the United States (New York, California, Arizona, Ohio, Washington, and Rhode Island).
Uruguay's Public Health Ministry (MSP) issued Sunday a series of recommendations to keep avian influenza from spreading to humans.
France will implement a nationwide smoking ban in public places frequented by children, effective July 1, 2025, Health and Family Minister Catherine Vautrin announced Friday, ahead of World No Tobacco Day on Saturday. In South America, the measure will apply to the overseas department of French Guiana, which follows French national laws. The issue is also environmental, with cigarette butts polluting seashores.
Brazil has officially been recognized by the World Organization for Animal Health for the second straight year as free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination. The acknowledgment, granted during the organization’s 92nd General Session in Paris, reinforces Brazil’s commitment to livestock health and global trade.
A new outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) in wild birds in Montenegro, in the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul, specifically affecting the species joão-de-barro (Furnarius rufus) was confirmed Wednesday, while a suspected case in a commercial poultry slaughterhouse in Tocantins was ruled out.
Two scientists from SAERI, South Atlantic Environment Research Institute have been checking on the Falkland Islands capital city Stanley main fresh water supply at the Moody Brook River.
Bolivia has been certified by the World Organization for Animal Health as free of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) without vaccination, a status shared only with Brazil in South America. This milestone, achieved through over 20 years of public-private efforts and a US$ 350 million investment, benefits around 200,000 livestock producers. Bolivia is to be officially granted such recognition during a ceremony on Thursday.
Argentina, under President Javier Milei, announced its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), becoming the first country in the region to do so, following the United States' exit under President Donald Trump.
Brazil's Agriculture Minister, Carlos Fávaro, announced Tuesday during a public hearing at the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Agrarian Reform that the bird flu outbreak in Montenegro, Rio Grande do Sul, has been successfully contained. The country's health system quickly implemented measures, including inspections of 540 nearby rural establishments and setting up sanitary barriers.
The Bluetongue Virus restricted zone will be extended from 1 July 2025 to cover the whole of England, ending movement restrictions for animals and allowing farmers to move cattle, sheep, all ruminants, camelids, throughout England without movement tests.