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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, June 13th 2025 - 08:37 UTC

Health & Science

  • Friday, December 29th 2023 - 10:48 UTC

    Uruguayan hospitals: Facemasks no longer mandatory

    Medina had insisted that it was about time for the measure to be more flexible

    The Uruguayan Government lifted the mandatory requirement to wear facemasks at healthcare facilities nationwide, it was reported in Montevideo Thursday. The document was signed by President Luis Lacalle Pou.

  • Thursday, December 28th 2023 - 10:19 UTC

    Dengue kills man in Argentine province of Corrientes

    So far this year, 1,079 deaths from dengue have been recorded in Brazil

    Argentine health authorities have issued an epidemiological alert after a man died of dengue in the city of Corrientes. The patient, who was reported to have underlying pathologies, had been rushed from his San Luis del Palmar residence to the “Escuela Hogar” hospital, in the provincial capital.

  • Thursday, December 28th 2023 - 08:05 UTC

    Bolivia declares epidemiological alert as number of Covid-19 grows

    The system must remain attentive, Minister Castro said

    Bolivian authorities Wednesday decreed an epidemiological alert in the face of an increasing number of cases of Covid-19. “It is not the first alert that it is launched,” Health Minister María Renée Castro explained. “When we have some diseases that begin to circulate we launch an alert to tell the system that it must remain attentive, so that we are all there, with all the protocols,” she added.

  • Wednesday, December 27th 2023 - 10:25 UTC

    Covid-19: Pirola strain detected in Argentina

    The case of Pirola in Argentina was detected in the Southern Province of Santa Cruz

    Argentine health authorities Tuesday confirmed the first case of the JN.1 strain of the SARS-Cov-2 virus, also known as Pirola, which has been labeled a variant of interest (VOI) by the World Health Organization (WHO) last week.

  • Sunday, December 24th 2023 - 13:12 UTC

    Covid-19 shows social inequalities in Brazil and kills 2 in Bolivia

    Patients in private healthcare facilities in Brazil did better on average than those treated in public hospitals for Covid-19

    According to a study by the National School of Public Health (Ensp/Fiocruz) released this week, COVID-19 turned out to be a reflection of the South American country's socioeconomic and health disparities while in Bolivia -a full Mercosur member since earlier this month- two people have died of the disease.

  • Thursday, December 21st 2023 - 10:38 UTC

    First human case of equine encephalitis reported in Argentina

    WEE has been known since 1930, but starting a few years ago their vaccination was no longer mandatory

    Argentine authorities confirmed Wednesday the first case of Equine Encephalitis in a human patient who was hospitalized in Reconquista, in the province of Santa Fe. The last records of humans affected by this disease in the country date back to 1983 and 1996. No vaccines are effective in humans.

  • Wednesday, December 20th 2023 - 20:22 UTC

    Falklands, new confirmed avian influenza case: black browed albatross

    A black browed albatross, that was found dead on Steeple Jason, was swabbed for highly pathogenic avian influenza. A positive result was returned. Steeple Jason has been declared out of bounds

    On Tuesday 28 November 2023 a black-browed albatross, that was found dead on Steeple Jason, was swabbed for highly pathogenic avian influenza. A positive result was returned.

  • Wednesday, December 20th 2023 - 10:19 UTC

    Uruguayan President and his children land in Antarctica

    Lacalle and his children were expected to stay at the Artigas base for nearly 24 hours

    The Uruguayan Air Force's Lockheed C-130 Hercules FAU 594 carrying President Luis Lacalle Pou and his children landed at the South American country's Artigas Base (BCAA) in Antarctica on Tuesday. “After 30 years, I have returned to Antarctica. The Artigas base houses military and civilians who work side by side,” Lacalle wrote on social networks.

  • Wednesday, December 20th 2023 - 09:28 UTC

    Covid-19: WHO labels Pirola a Variant of Interest

    For now, the risk to public health was deemed low

    The World Health Organization Tuesday (WHO) warned that in addition to COVID-19, other respiratory diseases such as influenza, RSV, and common childhood pneumonia were on the rise and advised people at risk to take precautionary steps.

  • Tuesday, December 19th 2023 - 10:00 UTC

    Brazilian court orders posts linking Covid-19 vax to VAIDS removed

    Brazil's AGU warned that the association of vaccines with AIDS harms public health

    The 20th Federal Court of Rio de Janeiro Monday ordered the removal of publications on websites and Telegram channels linking Covid-19 vaccines with the alleged development of a “vaccine-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome” (or VAIDS), Agencia Brasil reported.