In the last five years, scientists in Costa Rica have noticed a marked increase in Black Mantled Howler Monkeys -- who are turning blonde. Howler Monkeys (called Congos in Spanish), comprise 69% of the primate population of the country. Howlers are renowned for their vocalizations made by adult males, which can be heard more than one kilometer away. They are called “mantled” howler monkeys due to ...

Going to the dentist is usually not an experience we look forward to, but it is something we all need to do if we want a healthy smile and overall good health. It is recommended for a person to visit a dentist at least twice a year to prevent any severe problems, however, many times, not only do we not look forward to it but we avoid it because of the high costs it represents, especially when it c...

The Board of Directors of the Social Security Service (CCSS) in Costa Rica approved this Thursday, November 29, the protocol of comprehensive attention for the transgender population, which means they will be able to receive hormonal treatment in the hospitals of the CCSS. Doctor, Roman Macaya Hayes, executive president of the CCSS, described the approval as a ¨historical decision¨ that settles...

A BMW toy car is used in the Guapiles and Puntarenas Hospitals in Costa Rica to take small children to the operating room, this with the purpose of reducing the trauma caused at the moment the child is separated from the parents to undergo surgery. The control remote toy car drives the children to the operating room; according to doctor Iliana Musa, director of the Guapiles Hospital the effect ...

So far this year 7000 cases of measles have been reported in the American continent, and out of these, 72 patients have died; for this reason the Costa Rica Public Health and Social Security Administration (C.C.S.S) and the Ministry of Health urge parents to vaccinate their children against this virus. The alert is specially for children between the ages of 15 months and 10 years old. The Healt...

Globcan 2018, a study carried out by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) with the purpose of analyzing the trend and international impact of the different types of cancer, exposed that Costa Rica is exceeding the average number of cases of prostate cancer. The study shows that globally, there an estimate of one million new cases of prost...

Health authorities in Costa Rica warn of red tide affecting some areas of the Pacific Coast, Guanacaste, the Nicoya Peninsula and the Central Pacific. Red tide is caused by large concentrations of some species of algae. Red tide can be easily spotted due to the presence of red-brownish spots in coastal waters, this algal bloom also deplete oxygen in the waters and release certain toxins which w...

Specialists in gynecology at the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Costa Rica built the vaginas of two woman that were born with vaginal agenesis, a rare disorder that occurs when the vagina doesn't develop, and the womb (uterus) may only develop partially or not at all. ¨The procedure consists of two stages: a surgical stage and a mechanical stage, the hospital had to acquire a special device for e...

The Costa Rican Ministry of Health warned of an increase in the cases of respiratory syncytial virus which affects mainly young children; currently, health authorities have registered 121 minors hospitalized, 30 of them in very delicate condition, some that require the assistance of a machine to breath. The health authorities called on parents to keep small children especially newborns and babi...

The Clinica Biblica Hospital inaugurated this November 5 its new facilities in the area of Santa Ana, San José, Costa Rica. The new building involves 7,000 square meters of the hospital building and 8,000 square meters of the parking lot tower, this is the second location the private medical center opens, but it has plans to open two other facilities, one in Heredia and another in Tres Rios wit...

Four years had gone by with no registered cases of rabies affecting humans in Costa Rica. Unfortunately today the Ministry of Health confirmed the case of a 43-year-old biologist who became infected by the virus and is in very delicate condition at the San Juan de Dios Hospital in San Jose. Apparently, the man was bit by a bat on his left arm when he visited a cave during a family trip in the a...

Image credit: Wikipedi Scientists from the Clodomiro Picado Institute of the University of Costa Rica (ICP-UCR) created an antidote capable of neutralizing the venom of the black mamba snake, (Dendroaspis polylepis), an extremely venomous snake of the family Elapidae, and native to parts of sub-Saharan Africa. The antivenom is currently on its experimental stage, and consists in a “panel of ...

An investment of close to $13 million made possible the construction of the Costa Rican Oncology Center (Centro Oncológico Costarricense) a medical center in La Uruca, San Jose, that will open doors this Novemeber offering the latest in treatments for cancer patients. The five floor medical tower is equipped to treat an approximate 1200 patients a month, and it offers unique medical equipme...

It will take the Social Security Service in Costa Rica (CCSS) approximately four months to make up for the cancelled surgeries and appointments during the labor union’s strike that began back back September 10th and is still ongoing. Last Saturday, several of the labor unions involving employees of the CCSS came to an agreement with the Government and health authorities to stop the strike and r...

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 6-7 million people in the world are infected with Chagas Disease, a possibly fatal disease spread by the bite of a bug with the cute name of the “Kissing Bug”. Most of these people live in Latin America, usually in areas up to 1,600 meters above sea level, and Costa Rica has thousands of infected individuals, many of whom are completely una...

This Thursday the director of the San Juan de Dios Hospital in San Jose, Doctor Ileana Balmaceda, denounced the actions of the labor union that took over surgery rooms preventing oncology patients from getting programmed surgeries. According to Balmaceda, members of the labor union were upset because the hospital arranged to get assistance from surgeons and professionals from the Puriscal clini...

While in 2012, the number of teenage pregnancies represented 19.4%, on 2017 this indicator went down to 14.7% , the lowest percentage ever registered in the country. According to doctor Nineth Alarcón from the Comprehensive Care Program for Teens of the Social Security Service (C.C.S.S.) this is a very satisfactory achievement resulting from the efforts carried out to bring down the number of...

The National Employee Union of the Social Security Service (Undeca) posted a press release on their social media channels in which they qualify the hiring of private laundry services by the Costa Rica Health Authorities (CCSS) as “illegal”. “The desperate actions of the authorities of Caja (CCSS), that arranged the hiring of private companies and external workers without any training to replace...

The 15th edition of the Ross Foundation Walk and Run Against Cancer in Costa Rica will take place Sunday, October 7 starting at 8 a.m. at Paseo Colon, San Jose. Like every year, this initiative expects to gather the attention of thousands of people, raising awareness on breast cancer and other forms of this illness that affect many Costa Ricans every year. The 2km walk is completely free an...

The Social Security Service (CCSS) in Costa Rica reported that this last Friday almost half of the regional health clinics that joined the strike on Monday had resumed operations normally; however, these first five days of strikes left 1,201 programmed surgeries cancelled and 38,921 appointments that did not receive attention. According to the institution's authorities, during the week all con...

In the first 7 hours of the general strike called by the labor unions in Costa Rica, the most affected services are public education and public hospitals, according to information provided by the Government during a press conference this Monday. President Carlos Alvarado along Ministers and representatives of other public institutions stated that at this point 25 public institutions are operati...

The Costa Rican Social Security Service (CCSS) announced at 10:15 a.m. that some of the services at public hospitals have “unfortunately” been affected by the general strike “it’s variable, we cannot generalize”, stated Román Macaya, president of CCSS during the press conference today. “We have declared an institutional emergency, this will give us access to an emergency fund, that will facili...

What is full mouth reconstruction? "Full mouth reconstruction"  or "Full Mouth Restoration"  implies rebuilding the entire area, in other words, replacing all teeth in a patient’s mouth with the purpose of eliminating tooth decay or infections, replacing missing pieces, correcting improper bite that affects the quality of life, but in general with the objective of improving overall oral health...

According to the estimations of the National Institute of Census and Statistics (Spanish acronym: INEC) Costa Rica will receive its 5th million citizen at around 9:27 p.m. The Social Security Service (C.C.S.S.) is ready to inform of all births registered in the country’s hospitals between 9:20 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. The calculations of INEC are based solely on births and deaths in the country, i...

Violence and abandonment are the reality that hundreds of senior citizens face in Costa Rica. Many of the cases of abandonment occur in the public hospitals, situation that complicates even more the crowded system that already suffers with the number of beds available. Last year a total 127 senior citizens were abandoned in hospitals according to the Social Security system (CCSS); the elderly i...

In the past weeks several cases of Hepatitis A reported in four communities have raised the alert of the health authorities in Costa Rica. The cases were reported in the counties of Alajuelita, Los Yoses, Tibas and Goicoechea, all of them in San Jose. The Ministry of Public Health has stated that all cases are under control and the patients have made a satisfactory recovery so far, however, th...

Dental Tourism is a growing business in Costa Rica and throughout the last few years more dental clinics have seen the opportunity this represents and have made investments and efforts to offer better and more complete services that meet the expectations of the foreign patients. Foreigners interested in dental tourism usually have a lot of questions about the level of service they will receive,...

Costa Rica has become an important destination in the medical tourism and wellness sectors, rehab treatment programs are one of the services that foreigners seek in this Central American country. Costa Rica offers many advantages for foreigners looking for drug rehab programs, its closeness to North American countries, it’s many natural beauties that help heal the spirit, the fact that treatmen...

Costa Rica is known to be a peaceful country covered in green nature and is also one of the happiest countries in the world, these are part of the reasons why the country has become an important destination for wellness and medical tourism including drug and alcohol treatment centers. Drug and alcohol addiction is a growing problem everywhere in the world, on the road to recovery many choose to...

The Ministry of Health in Costa Rica signed this Monday afternoon a sanitary alert for malaria due to the increase in the number of cases reported in the country “imported” from Nicaragua, Panama, South America and Africa. The purpose of the alert is to raise awareness among the population and educate them on the characteristics and symptoms of this disease. Costa Rica has maintained the e...

A two-year-old girl and a 50-year-old woman share the liver of one donator after a successful split liver transplantation that was carried out by Costa Rican physicians in two hospitals in the country. A split liver transplantation involves taking the liver of a donor and dividing it to be transplanted into two patients. This procedure, performed two weeks ago (May 23), was the first of its ...

On May 24th The Word Health Assembly, approved an initiative promoted by the governments of Costa Rica and Colombia, along with the support of the Clodomiro Picado Institute (ICP) branch of the University of Costa Rica. The ICP aims to take global action to bring down the number of deaths caused by snakebites. According to the documentary “Minutes to Die: Snakebite – The World’s Ignored Health ...

The Foundation Pro Unit of Palliative Care in Costa Rica received this Friday the Sasakawa Health Prize given by the World Health Organization, during a ceremony celebrated in Geneva, Switzerland. “The Sasakawa Health Prize consists of a statuette and a sum of money to be given to one or more persons, institutions or nongovernmental organizations having accomplished outstanding innovative work ...

Ezequiel and Samuel Nuñez, the Costa Rican siamese twins who underwent a separation surgery at the National Children’s Hospital three months ago are almost ready to leave the hospital. The twins who are now 2 years and 5 months old have slowly made progress to the point that Samuel could be going back home as early as next week; Ezequiel still requires to get some infections under control but c...

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the population in the American continent has won 16 years of life in average in the last 45 years; today, life expectancy in this region is of 75 years. BBC launched a calculator that shows a person’s life expectancy based on the country you were born in, and using this tool and analyzing the results for Latin America, Costa Rica is in the firs...

The Center of Investigation for Biotechnology (CIB) of the Costa Rica Technological Institute works in the elaboration of a syrup with the use of a plant that grows in the North Zone of Costa Rica which will help save the life of poisoned dogs. The syrup is intended to provoke the vomit in a poisoned animal and diminish the effects of the toxic substance. At this time the group of investigat...

Cosmetic surgeries are performed every day in Costa Rica and around the world, in fact, these type of surgeries attract many medical tourists to the country since it has earned a name for the high quality of its medical services at a much cheaper rate than in North America; however, every surgery has its risks, cosmetic surgeries are not the exception. A study carried out by the University of C...

Costa Rica has a number of factors that make it a very attractive destination for medical tourism, and in particular for dental tourism. According to the National Health Chamber (Promed), close to 45% of foreign tourists that visit the country for medical tourism do so seeking quality dental care. Their statistics show that the majority of this tourists are adults over 45 years-of–age visiting ...

According to data by the Social Security Service (CCSS), a total 26 thousand children and teens under 15 years of age in Costa Rica required medical attention in 2017 as a result of obesity. Grace Murillo Loaiza, national coordinator of Nutrition of the CCSS, the statistics are alarming. 85.8% of the patients were between the ages of 5 and 14. Health authorities call on parents and educators...

The Costa Rican Social Security Agency (C.C.S.S.) will kick start its yearly massive vaccination campaign against influenza this May. In total, the health authority will be a applying 1.3 million vaccines giving priority to children, senior citizens over 60 years of age and high risk population which includes diabetics, patients with heart conditions, pregnant women, cancer patients or those th...