A municipal health worker fumigates the restroom area of a shopping mall as part of the city's effort to prevent the spread of Zika virus' vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in this January 26, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Jorge Cabrera/Files The trendy Wynwood district in Miami's urban center has become ground zero in the fight against the Zika virus in the U.S., with f...

By Wendy Anders The Costa Rican Social Security Bureau (CCSS) kicks-off breast-feeding awareness week with a series of activities this week to encourage women to breastfeed by educating them and their family members about the benefits of this practice. The week culminates in a walk on Friday through downtown San José to promote breastfeeding, and a quality and safe hospitalized birth. Accord...

Stem cells. Wikimedia Commons Global Stem Cells Group hosted a symposium and formal inauguration of Clinica Biomaster, the company’s new stem cell center in Escazú, Costa Rica. Joseph Purita, M.D., head of the Global Stem Cells Group Scientific Advisory Board, was the keynote speaker at the event, held July 15 and 16, 2016. Purita also presented lectures to medical staff at Hospital CIMA and ...

By Wendy Anders Within two months a new mechanism for insuring domestic workers will be ready to be implemented, stated Gustavo Picado, finance manager of the Costa Rican Social Security Bureau (CCSS), the country’s public health service agency. Speaking to Monumental Radio last week, bureau officials said they aimed to increase coverage of this vulnerable group. Only 14 percent of Costa Ric...

By Wendy Andershttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn91WdKhUmE Eyewitness accounts in and around Peñas Blancas on Costa Rica’s northern border with Nicaragua show growing desperation and also health concerns among hundreds of Haitian and African immigrants trying to journey to the U.S. Costa Rica’s national TV Repretel documented a thwarted attempt last Wednesday by a boisterous group of immigra...

By Wendy Anders Alajuela’s public hospital announced a series of changes for women giving birth including allowing them to choose from three different positions and receive better hydration while in labor, reported the Costa Rican Social Security Bureau (CCSS). The public health care system is aiming to improve women’s and their partner’s experiences during birth under a new policy called th...

Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika are spread by the Aedes aegyptie mosquito (Wikimedia Commons)Bismarck, N.D.— The North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH) has confirmed a second case of Zika virus illness reported in a North Dakota resident. The individual who tested positive for Zika virus is a man who traveled to Costa Rica. This case was not hospitalized for his illness. As reported by Th...

Luke Lehrer - Flickr CommonsDental implants are the most frequently sought procedures by dental tourists in Costa Rica, but not every patient will be a good implantology candidate. Dental tourists who suffer from osteoporosis are generally thought to be at risk with regard to dental implants, but this will not always be the case. Patients evaluated for dental implants by the staff of the Fliki...

Wikimedia Commons Viveve Medical, Inc. ("Viveve"), a medical technology company focused on women's health, today announced six new distribution partnerships that expand commercial availability of the Viveve System to fourteen additional countries in Latin America. The new relationships provide for distribution of the Viveve System in: Argentina, Peru, Paraguay (Sirex S.A.) and Chile (Torregal)...

        Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is one of the most dynamic technological areas in Costa Rica. It includes more than 900 companies, 95 percent of which are SMEs, becoming an interesting sector with important challenges related to international collaboration and partnership. Joining this strategic sector with national priorities and inter...

Source: U.S. National Museum of Health and Medicine A common sexually transmitted infection that was substantially reduced in Costa Rica decades ago is showing signs of spreading, and societal trends related to the Millennial Generation seem to be at play. According to a news report filed by health journalist Angie Guerrero of online news daily Costa Rica Hoy, statistics compiled by the Min...

A new report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) indicates that dental patients from Quebec are increasingly going abroad for treatments, and Costa Rica is one of their facorite destinations. According to CBC health reporter Kate McKenna, the high cost of dental care in the province of Quebec is prompting many Canadians to consider their options overseas. Specifically, the CBC rep...

www.dentalinstitutecr.com The Flikier Institute of Dental Rehabilitation, a specialty practice dedicated to medical tourism in Costa Rica, recently launched a new website to inform patients about dental health. The new website, www.dentalinstitutecr.com , features responsive technology that allows optimal display across various desktop and mobile devices. The site offers detailed informatio...

Source: TeenSmart The Carlos Slim Foundation on Tuesday presented its Health Awards to Costa Rica's TeenSmart institution, which informs young people about health risks, and to Mexico's Dr. Rafael Lozano Ascencio for his research linking disease with socio-demographic factors. Foundation executive director Ricardo Mujica presented the honors to the winners in the Exceptional Institution and...

Wikimedia Commons Today, Sanofi Pasteur, Sanofi's vaccine division, announced that the National Ministry of Public Health of Costa Rica has approved Sanofi Pasteur's tetravalent dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia®, to protect individuals 9 to 45 years of age living in endemic areas against all four serotypes of dengue. This approval in Costa Rica is the fourth registration of the dengue vaccine in L...

Close up of a Marijuana plant flowering during the final stages of growth. EFE/file San Jose, Costa Rica will be the site of the Latin American Medical Cannabis Conference, July 28-29th at the Crown Plaza Hotel,. Top- level Cannabis industry speakers, from the U.S., Colombia, Uruguay, Chile and Costa Rica will address topics related to the Medical Cannabis field. There will be full translation s...

CALGARY, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Calgary Scientific Inc., a company known for creating innovative technology for the medical industry and beyond, announced that ResolutionMD® medical imaging software is registered by the Ministry of Health in Costa Rica for diagnosis using both web and mobile devices. The Costa Rican Ministry of Health regulates the healthcare industry and acts as the regula...

The Reality of Truth Mike Zapolin, best known as “Zappy”, recently won “best director award” for his documentary film The Reality Of Truth”. The acclaimed documentary features the beautiful Michelle Rodriguez of the Fast and Furious film franchise, Deepak Chopra, Joel Osteen, Dr. Drew, Ram Dass, Marianne Williamson, Foster Gamble, and many more. Zappy and his unique group of friends make a pas...

Source: GoFundMe Julie Lee Lambert, a highly esteemed science educator at Florida Atlantic University (FAU), is slowly recovering from a brain aneurysm that kept her hospitalized in Costa Rica for 49 days. As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, Professor Lambert came to our country as an academic tourist to attend a conference. During her visit, she suffered a brain aneurysm that re...

PALO ALTO, Calif., June 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- AirXpanders Inc. (ASX: AXP) (AirXpanders or Company) a medical device company focused on the design, manufacture, sale and distribution of the AeroForm® tissue expander, today announces that it has received commitments from sophisticated and professional investors to subscribe for 26,315,790 CHESS Depositary Interests (CDIs) (representing 8,771,930 s...

Pixabay Commons Over the last couple of decades, Tamarindo Beach has undergone an amazing transformation from sleepy beach town to a major real estate market and a haven for expats in Costa Rica. These days, Tamarindo Beach is known as one of the most attractive beach communities that make up Costa Rica’s Gold Coast, and a major reason for this distinction is that residents have easy access to...

Source: GoFundMe Dr. Julie Lambert, a science educator at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) who suffered a ruptured aneurysm and fell into a coma during an academic visit to Costa Rica, has been approved to fly home aboard a commercial airline as long as she sits in the first class section with a nurse by her side. As previously reported in The Costa Rica Star, Professor Lambert is a passio...

Wikimedia Commons By Drew Johnson The World Health Organization celebrates World No Tobacco Day by promoting policies that cause more smoking. Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff. Tuesday, May 31 marks the World Health Organization’s World No Tobacco Day. The United Nations’ public healt...

Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika are spread by the Aedes aegyptie mosquito (Wikimedia Commons) By Michele McDonald George Mason University researchers are on the front lines of Costa Rica’s defense against the Zika virus. Bordered by Panama and Nicaragua, the Central American country could be a natural laboratory for George Mason researchers, who have partnered with their counterparts at Co...

Source: GoFundMe Important - A lengthy followup and update can be found here - After suffering a ruptured aneurysm during a conference in Costa Rica in April and later being put in a coma after several surgeries, a professor is stranded without the means to return to the United States. Associate professor of Science and Environmental Education Julie Lambert has spent the last six weeks in H...

Scarlet Macaw BALTIMORE, MD (PRWEB) MAY 23, 2016 - When people consider retiring abroad, they most often cite as motivation the lower cost of living, escaping the worst of the North American winter, finding a more adventurous life, access to excellent, affordable healthcare. But many expats report that, once abroad, they discover a benefit they hadn’t considered in advance: a healthier lifestyl...

Source: DOD DVIDS By 2nd Lt. Anna Doo, 200th Public Affairs Detachment, NMARNG QUEPOS, COSTA RICA - Twenty-two Costa Rican Guarda Costas attended a two-day workshop conducted by Sgt. 1st. Class David Muniz and Sgt. Michael Marfia, medics from New Mexico National Guard, as part of the National Guard Bureau's State Partnership Program. The Subject Matter Expert Exchange, or SMEE, aims to deep...

Wikimedia Commons GENEVA  – The diversity of the needs of older persons is invisible in current policies related to ageing in Costa Rica despite the existence of good practices in the country, the United Nations Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, Rosa Kornfeld-Matte, said on 18 May. “Older persons are not a homogenous group,” the expert stressed at the...

Los Altos del Monte ATENAS, COSTA RICA (PRWEB) MAY 18, 2016 - Located in the lushly verdant Costa Rican mountains, on the outskirts of the picturesque town of Atenas, The Retreat at Altos del Monte (theretreatcostarica.com) has completely refreshed their spa menu. The renewed list of options is a return to the property’s tropical nature, using fresh, organic and local ingredients, which creates ...

Massachusetts General Hospital. Wikimedia Commons Washington, May 16 (EFE).- Surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston announced Monday the first successful penis transplant in the United States, performed on a patient who lost that organ because of a tumor. The operation was just the second of its kind in the world, following a similar one in South Africa in 2014. On this occ...

A municipal health worker fumigates the restroom area of a shopping mall as part of the city's effort to prevent the spread of Zika virus' vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in this January 26, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Jorge Cabrera/Files A spray fumigation team from the Ministry of Public Health (Spanish initials: MSP) rushed to the Temporary Detention Center for Fo...

Photo by Hector Landaeta, Flickr Commons With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, often referred to as Obamacare, health insurance reform is now a widespread affair in the United States, a nation where medical and dental treatment have always been financially inaccessible to many residents. The topic of dental insurance is once again being discussed at the kitchen tables of many U.S...

2016 Rio Olympics Logo Washington, May 12 (EFE).- The World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization on Thursday asked pregnant women not to travel to Rio de Janeiro or to other parts of Brazil where the Zika virus is present as part of their recommendations for the Olympic Games in August. In a joint communique, the two affiliated organizations acknowledged that athlete...

Wikimedia Commons San Jose, Costa Rica-May 5th, 2016--PROMED, the Council for the International Promotion of Costa Rica Medicine will host the Latin America Medical Cannabis Conference in Costa Rican on July 27-29th as part of ExpoMed series. PROMED is a private not-for-profit organization, which coordinates the quality control and international promotion efforts of the medical tourism indu...

Source: Wikimedia Commons The family of a 63-year old man from the United States, who passed away under mysterious circumstances in April, are asking that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents become involved in the case. According to a news report filed by Luke Roberts of the Douglas Enterprise earlier this week, Mitch McCrimmon did not survive a coma that placed him in the hospital from ...

Zika map. Source: CDC Washington, May 3 (EFE).- The first human trials with a vaccine against the Zika virus will begin this autumn, but it will be two or three years before researchers will know if it is successful against the disease, the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said Tuesday. Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke at a press conference at the Washington...

Wikimedia Commons Veneers, bridges, crowns, implants, and full mouth restorations are among the most popular procedures sought by dental tourists in Costa Rica. Depending on the treatment plan formulated by dentists, patients may be expected to return to the clinic for one or more follow-up visits in the days immediately after the procedure; but what happens when they fly back to their countri...

Wikimedia Commons For all the convenience and affordability of dental tourism in Costa Rica, the best you can hope for with regard to your oral health is that you will never require a major procedure done. Most of the patients who visit New Smile Dental Group, a San Jose clinic that specializes in dental tourism, come to Costa Rica to get procedures to improve their oral health. Popular bel...

Wikimedia Commons Discussion about wisdom teeth tends to be binary in the sense that many dental experts cannot fully agree on what should be done the last of our permanent teeth. Common wisdom, so to speak, tells us that these late dental apparitions shall be extracted, but it is not clear when they should be taken out. In the 20th century, the most often cited reason argument in favor of ...

Archive photo Buenos Aires, Apr 26 (EFE).- The Argentine teenager who was hospitalized April 16 after attending an electronic music festival in Buenos Aires, at which five people died, has been released, while another three whose health seems to be slowly improving remain in intensive care, medical sources said Tuesday. The 17-year-old youth, who had been admitted to Rivadavia Hospital in B...