
The Brazil Health Ministry website reported there have been 1,053 measles cases and 5 deaths, as of August 2, 2018. This negative news is a significant increase from the July 20th Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) report, which said Brazil had confirmed 677 measles cases during 2018.

The British Embassy in Montevideo, Cuti, ARU and ANDE are co-organizing the third edition of Hackathon AGRO which will take place at Expo Prado 2018 on 14-16 September. Hackathon AGRO is an open competition for Uruguayan teams made up of researchers, entrepreneurs and experts in Information Technologies, Agro and Business.

The killing of a medical student in Nicaragua has been condemned by the World Medical Association. Brazilian student Rayneia Lima was shot this week while driving home from her hospital shift in Managua, Nicaragua's capital city.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and partners are calling on countries to urgently increase hepatitis testing and treatment services in order to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is to hold Brexit talks with the Austrian chancellor this Friday before heading off on her summer holiday in Italy and Switzerland. Mrs. May will also attend a music festival in Salzburg as a guest of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

The United States Food and Drug Administration said that Prinston Pharmaceutical Inc. dba Solco Healthcare LLC. is recalling all lots of Valsartan Tablets, 40 mg, 80mg, 160mg, and 320mg; and Valsartan-Hydrochlorothiazide Tablets, 80mg/12.5mg, 160mg/12.5mg, 160mg/25mg, 320mg/12.5mg, and 320mg/25mg to the retail level.

Brazil's Health Ministry says at least 744 people have been infected with measles in a growing outbreak linked to cases imported from neighboring Venezuela.The total includes 67 indigenous Venezuelans and Brazilians.

The infant mortality rate in Brazil, which consistently went down since 1990, started going up in 2016. It is believed that the rate for 2017 will also be higher than the 2015 rate. Both the Zika epidemic and the country's economic recession have been highlighted by the Ministry of Health as causes for the rising infant mortality rate.

Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay US$ 4.7 billion in damages to 22 women who alleged that its talc products caused them to develop ovarian cancer. A jury in the US state of Missouri initially awarded US$ 550m in compensation and added US$ 4.1bn in punitive damages.

A high-profile group of tech experts has been assembled at the request of United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, tasked with putting the benefits of digital technology to more effective use, while also protecting against unwanted or unexpected negative impacts.