Health & Science

• Wednesday, February 13th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  La Niña current anticipates dry climate for Americas

  

  The current La Niña weather pattern is expected to strengthen and continue through the middle of the year, bringing wetter conditions to Australia and the western Pacific and a drier climate to the Americas, the United Nations World Meteorological Agency (WMO) reported Tuesday.

• Tuesday, February 12th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Yellow fever threatens Paraguay; epidemics alert

  

  Paraguay declared this week an epidemics alert following the confirmation of five cases of the mosquito-borne viral yellow fever. All medical staff must immediately report to the Epidemics Vigilance Department in the capital Asuncion any suspected case of the disease.

• Saturday, February 9th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Brazil reported 13 fatal cases of yellow fever in eight weeks

  

  Brazil has reported a total of 48 cases of the mosquito borne yellow fever, 13 of them fatal, since mid December, the World Health Organisation said this week. Three states, Goias, Brasilia and Matto Grosso do Sul concentrate the majority of cases.

• Tuesday, February 5th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Strong earthquake shakes Peru-Chile border

  

  A strong earthquake, centered in the Andes mountains, struck Chile Monday afternoon near its borders with Peru and Bolivia.

• Monday, February 4th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  World Said to Be on Brink of Cancer Epidemic

  

  International health agencies say the world is on the brink of a cancer epidemic. The World Health Organization reports 7.6 million people died of the disease in 2005. It predicts the number of cancer deaths and new cases of the disease will rise astronomically in the coming years, unless action is taken now to reverse smoking trends and provide treatment to patients in developing countries.

• Wednesday, January 30th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Health alert in Paraguay following outbreak of dengue

  A health alert has been declared in Paraguay in a bid to stop a new outbreak of dengue fever. Health workers have detected some 150 suspected cases of the mosquito-borne disease so far this year. The virus disease seems on its way to becoming endemic in the heart of South Amererica.

• Thursday, January 17th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Brucellosis outbreak hits Italy's mozzarella producing buffalos

  

  The production of one of Italy's best known exports, mozzarella, is under threat from an infection of brucellosis spreading through herds of water buffalo. The Italian government has set up an emergency commission to try and stop the spread of the disease, which affects milk production.

• Wednesday, January 16th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Fossilized skull of largest rodent found in Uruguay

  

  The fossilized skull of the largest rodent ever recorded has been described by scientists for the first time. The remains of the one-ton beast, found in Uruguay, indicate that it would have been as big as a bull.

• Wednesday, January 16th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Toxic algae forces Uruguay to ban mollusk consumption

  

  Uruguay's Aquatic Resources Directorate (DINARA) on Tuesday extended for another ten days the ban on extraction, trade and transport of bivalve mollusks (mussels, cockles and clams) as the red tide continues to expand along the country's Atlantic coastline.

• Monday, January 14th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Brazil denies yellow fever epidemic, but suggests vaccination

  

  Brazil faces no risk of a yellow fever epidemic, despite an outbreak that killed two people last week in the capital, Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao said in Brasilia.