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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, March 19th 2026 - 14:05 UTC

Health & Science

  • Saturday, March 11th 2023 - 12:18 UTC

    Chikungunya: 43 deaths and 11,467 cases confirmed in Paraguay

    With 30% of healthcare staffers on sick leave, chikungunya is also creating a work overload for those still on call

    Paraguayan health authorities Friday confirmed 43 people had died nationwide of chikungunya, while the total number of cases rose to 11,467 over the past three weeks. Eight of the victims were children under one year of age, while 35 others were adults aged over 30, according to the latest epidemiological report released by the General Directorate of Health Surveillance. “The mortality rate is 0.6 per 100,000 inhabitants and the case fatality rate is 0.1 %,” the document read.

  • Wednesday, March 8th 2023 - 10:08 UTC

    Argentine-developed Covid vax ready to move on to trial phase

    The ARVAC Cecilia Grierson vaccine was named after the first Argentine female physician

    Argentine researchers are about to complete de development of the “ARVAC Cecilia Grierson” Covid-19 vaccine, which is why volunteers are needed for the 2/3 trial phase, it was reported in Buenos Aires. The new drug is expected to be cleared by mid-2023.

  • Tuesday, March 7th 2023 - 10:02 UTC

    Lugo discharged from Buenos Aires clinic

    Lugo was hospitalized at the Fleni clinic in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for six months

    Former Paraguayan President and current Senator Fernando Lugo has been discharged Monday from a Buenos Aires hospital where he was flown to after suffering a brain stroke last year, Presidential candidate Efraín Alegre announced.

  • Wednesday, March 1st 2023 - 10:25 UTC

    Argentina halts poultry exports after case of avian flu confirmed

    Bahillo insisted the disease is not transmitted through the consumption of poultry meat or eggs so exporters would be able to sell their products locally

    Argentine authorities Tuesday suspended poultry exports after the first case of avian flu was confirmed in the province of Río Negro. The South American country's poultry exports last year amounted to US$ 383 million, with China buying 75% of them. With 2.5 million tons of poultry meat produced annually, 10% are sold abroad.

  • Monday, February 27th 2023 - 09:58 UTC

    China to use Antarctica for ocean monitoring satellites

    By 2021, under the guise of civilian research, China reportedly began employing advanced military capabilities at its Zhongshan base in Antarctica

    Last week's announcement by China that it would build ground stations in Antarctica to back its increasing number of ocean monitoring satellites, has sparked some fears among western countries who believe it is in fact an espionage network, a comment Beijing has systematically rejected.

  • Saturday, February 25th 2023 - 09:13 UTC

    WHO worried: human-to-human transmission of bird flu cannot be ruled out

    An 11-year-old girl in Cambodia died of H5N1 and her father tested positive for the virus //AFP

    World Health Organization (WHO) experts have expressed their concern after two cases of humans catching H5N1 avian flu were confirmed this week. During a virtual press conference Friday, WHO Director of Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention Sylvie Briand said the situation was “worrying.”

  • Friday, February 24th 2023 - 10:26 UTC

    Uruguay demands foreign tourists have medical insurance

    Previous Covid-19 requisites have been lifted

    Effective this month, a decree signed by Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou on Feb.16 requires all foreign travelers entering the country to have medical insurance, regardless of whether they arrive by land, sea, or air. The same measure, which has also been approved by the Council of Ministers, also lifts all previous Covid-19 requisites.

  • Thursday, February 23rd 2023 - 10:11 UTC

    Penguin fossil trails shed light on continent's separation from Antarctica

    There is no volcanic activity presently, as there was at the time of the separation of Antarctica and South America, and the difference can be traced in fossil penguin bones

    Researchers from Argentina's National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) came up with penguin fossil indicators of a historical separation between Antarctica and South America, it was reported Wednesday.

  • Thursday, February 23rd 2023 - 09:20 UTC

    Brazilian beef sales to China suspended due to case of mad cow

    “All measures are being taken immediately,” Minister Carlos Favaro stressed

    Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture announced Wednesday that even though it poses no threat to human consumers, beef exports to China are to be halted effective Thursday after a case of the mad-cow disease has been confirmed in the State of Pará, Agencia Brasil reported.

  • Tuesday, February 21st 2023 - 10:05 UTC

    Argentina ups security measures as number of avian flu cases grows

    Avian flu cannot be transmitted through the consumption of eggs from sick birds, Melón explained

    Argentina's health authorities have decided to up their biosecurity measures following the increase in the number of avian flu cases detected nationwide, particularly in provinces bordering Uruguay, but also in Córdoba and Salta.