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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, May 21st 2026 - 17:04 UTC

Tag: World Health Organization (WHO)

  • Tuesday, May 19th 2026 - 18:53 UTC

    WHO warns of “magnitude and speed” of Ebola outbreak in Congo with 131 deaths and cases in Uganda

    The outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo virus, an Ebola species for which no approved vaccines or treatments exist

    The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned on Tuesday before the World Health Assembly meeting in Geneva that “the magnitude and speed” with which the Ebola outbreak is spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are alarming, with more than 543 suspected cases, 131 deaths linked to transmission, and 33 laboratory-confirmed infections. Two further cases have been confirmed in neighboring Uganda, both involving Congolese citizens who had crossed the border, one of whom has died. The WHO director convened the organization's Emergency Committee to formulate containment recommendations.

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  • Saturday, May 9th 2026 - 06:43 UTC

    Tenerife braces for race-against-time operation to evacuate 140 from MV Hondius

    The operational window is narrow. Canary Islands government spokesman Alfonso Cabello warned that the evacuation must be completed between Sunday and Monday

    Spain faces a complex international operation in Tenerife on Sunday to evacuate the passengers and crew of the cruise ship MV Hondius, struck by a hantavirus outbreak that has left three dead and five laboratory-confirmed cases among the eight identified by the World Health Organization. The Dutch-flagged vessel, carrying more than 140 people and one body still on board, will anchor off the port of Granadilla between 3:00 and 5:00 a.m. local time.

  • Friday, May 8th 2026 - 15:40 UTC

    Ushuaia landfill scrutinized in cruise ship hantavirus outbreak probe

    Several of the roughly 150 tourists who set sail for Cape Verde on 1 April had visited the landfill, which is frequented by birdwatchers from around the world, drawn by scavenger species

    Seven kilometers from downtown Ushuaia, the municipal landfill serving Argentina's southernmost city has become one of the focal points of the epidemiological investigation into the hantavirus outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship. Health teams are searching the site for traces of infected rodents. The landfill is frequented by birdwatchers from around the world, drawn by species such as the white-throated caracara, a scavenger bird endemic to the region.

  • Wednesday, May 6th 2026 - 16:10 UTC

    WHO confirms Andes strain in MV Hondius outbreak and traces 23 passengers who disembarked at Saint Helena

    The MV Hondius is expected to take between three and four days to reach the Canary Islands from its current position off Cape Verde

    The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on Wednesday that the variant responsible for the hantavirus outbreak aboard polar cruise ship MV Hondius is the Andes virus, the only documented strain capable of human-to-human transmission, raised the total number of linked cases to eight, and launched the international tracing of 23 passengers who left the ship two weeks ago during a stop at the island of Saint Helena. The confirmation of the strain represents a significant epidemiological development and substantially widens the scope of the health investigation.

  • Tuesday, May 5th 2026 - 21:58 UTC

    Spain agrees to receive hantavirus-hit cruise ship in Canary Islands following WHO request

    The reception protocol will be developed by the WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)

    The Spanish government on Tuesday night authorised the docking in the Canary Islands of the polar cruise ship MV Hondius, on which a hantavirus outbreak has already left three people dead, after Cape Verdean authorities denied it entry to their ports and following a formal request from the World Health Organization (WHO) that invoked Spain's “moral and legal obligation” to assist the 147 passengers and crew on board, including 14 Spanish citizens.

  • Monday, May 4th 2026 - 01:45 UTC

    Three dead in hantavirus outbreak aboard polar cruise ship from Ushuaia bound for Cape Verde

    The current itinerary included stops at the Falklands, the South Georgia Islands, and Saint Helena. According to maritime tracking websites, the ship was on Sunday off the port of Praia

    The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed three deaths on Sunday aboard the polar cruise ship MV Hondius from a hantavirus outbreak, a disease typically transmitted through rodents. The vessel, operated by the Dutch company Oceanwide Expeditions, had set sail from the port of Ushuaia, in Argentina's Tierra del Fuego province, on March 20, bound for the port of Praia in Cape Verde, where its journey was scheduled to conclude on May 4.

  • Tuesday, March 17th 2026 - 23:31 UTC

    Argentina officially withdraws from the WHO: How will this affect the country?

    In practical terms, the decision does not sever Argentina from the region’s main mechanisms for purchasing vaccines, medicines and medical supplies. Argentina will remain in the PAHO

    Argentina formally completed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization on March 17, a move announced by Javier Milei’s government a year ago and now confirmed by Secretary for International Economic Relations Pablo Quirno. In his statement, Quirno said the country would continue promoting health cooperation through bilateral and regional channels while fully safeguarding its sovereignty over public health policy.

  • Monday, February 2nd 2026 - 17:58 UTC

    UK loses measles elimination status, WHO reports

    NHS is making vaccination easier, offering the second MMRV dose earlier at a new 18-month appointment to boost uptake and support elimination goals

    The United Kingdom has lost its measles elimination status, the World Health Organization has announced. The move was based on the spread of cases in 2024 when there were 3,600 suspected cases. However elimination status means there is no sustained transmission so this decision was largely expected, given the scale of the outbreaks in 2024.

  • Saturday, July 19th 2025 - 10:51 UTC

    New Covid-19 variant detected in Brazil

    Frankenstein has been classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a “variant under monitoring”

    A new Covid-19 variant, Stratus (XFG or XFG.3), also known as “Frankenstein” due to its recombinant nature, has been identified in Brazil and is under international surveillance by the World Health Organization (WHO).

  • Monday, June 2nd 2025 - 09:18 UTC

    New SARS-CoV-2 variant under WHO close monitoring for its rapid spread

    The subtype poses no additional threat, but the WHO urged governments to remain vigilant

    The World Health Organization has launched a warning about the rapid spread of the NB.1.8.1 variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has been detected so far in at least 22 countries, including Egypt, Thailand, the Maldives, and the United States (New York, California, Arizona, Ohio, Washington, and Rhode Island).

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