Health & Science

Saturday, January 30th 2016 - 13:04 UTC
Falklands' has announced a health advice and warning on the ZIKA virus

The Falkland Islands has joined the rest of the word and set out a health advice and warning on the worldwide increase in the ZIKA virus. The message is from the Director of Health and Acting Chief Medical Officer and outlines precautions to be taken against the virus which for the most part carried via mosquitoes.
Saturday, January 30th 2016 - 12:35 UTC
Glyhphosate court battle in California could turn into lead case

Monsanto stepped up its defense of a widely used weed killer by filing a lawsuit in California seeking to prevent glyphosate, the main ingredient in its Roundup herbicide, from being added to the state’s list of known carcinogens.
Saturday, January 30th 2016 - 11:11 UTC
WHO backs British campaign for a 'sugar tax' on sweet drinks

In a new report on rising childhood obesity, the World Health Organization (WHO) has backed the British campaign for a “sugar tax” on sweet drinks. There is “strong evidence” that a sugar tax will work alongside two other measures to tackle childhood obesity: a ban on the sale of unhealthy food by schools, and a crackdown on the marketing of junk food to children, the report states.
Friday, January 29th 2016 - 03:45 UTC
WHO admits as possible four million cases of Zika; emergency meeting Monday

The World Health Organization (WHO) expects the Zika virus, which is spreading through the Americas, to affect between three million and four million people, a disease expert said on Thursday. WHO's director-general said the spread of the mosquito-borne disease had gone from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions.
Thursday, January 28th 2016 - 05:50 UTC
Airlines offering refunds to passengers booked to fly to countries with Zika cases

Some airlines, including those serving the Caribbean, have started offering refunds to passengers who had been booked to fly to countries where cases of the Zika virus have been confirmed. United Airlines, American Airlines and British Airways are allowing passengers to back out of travel.
Tuesday, January 26th 2016 - 08:06 UTC
Pan American Health Organization statement on Zika virus transmission and prevention

Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that is new to the Americas. Since Brazil reported the first cases of local transmission of the virus in May 2015, it has spread to 21 countries and territories* of the Americas (as of 23 January 2016).
Tuesday, January 26th 2016 - 07:46 UTC
UK government chief scientist in Chile to attend congress on education and science

Sir Mark Walport, the British Government Chief Scientific Adviser and Head of Science and Engineering Profession, arrived in Chile on 21 January. He has been invited by the Chilean Senate to participate in the Futures Congress, in which national and international scientists, analysts and thinkers, analyze the most significant issues, challenges and achievements in the world of science.
Saturday, January 23rd 2016 - 08:28 UTC
Argentina now denies dengue outbreak is an 'epidemic'.

Even as the number of new cases of dengue fever continued to rise in Argentina, the Health Ministry performed a rapid about-face and disavowed a statement made on Wednesday that the outbreak constituted “an epidemic.”
Friday, January 22nd 2016 - 07:17 UTC
Argentina admits ”epidemic of (mosquito-borne) dengue fever”, including Buenos Aires city

The first cases of Dengue fever struck Buenos Aires City this week as a spate of outbreaks in Greater Buenos Aires and across Argentina’s northeast were labeled “an epidemic” by Health Minister Jorge Lemus.
Friday, January 22nd 2016 - 06:58 UTC
Zika virus epidemic spreads in the region; women advised to delay pregnancy

The mosquito-borne Zika virus has already infected more than 13,500 people in Colombia and could hit as many as 700,000, the health minister said on Wednesday. According to Pan-American Health Organization figures, the country is second only to Brazil in infection rates, health minister Alejandro Gaviria told journalists.