Mpox: Argentina quarantines cargo ship due to suspected virus infection | Mpox

Argentine authorities have quarantined a cargo ship in the Paraná River because of a suspected case of Mpox on board, the government said Tuesday. Health authorities around the world remain on alert for a new, faster-spreading variant of the virus.

The ship, near the Argentine grain port of Rosario, alerted authorities because “one of its crew members, of Indian nationality, had cyst-like skin lesions, predominantly on the chest and face,” the ministry said in a statement.

The person was isolated from the rest of the crew and the ministry said the public health emergency protocol had been activated. The ship, which was heading to the port of San Lorenzo in the province of Santa Fe, had to anchor in the river.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Mpox a global health emergency last week for the second time in two years as a new variant of the virus spread rapidly in Africa. A day later, a case of the Clade 1b variant was confirmed in Sweden, the first sign of spread outside Africa.

So far, eight cases of Mpox have been registered in Argentina, but none of them were of the clade 1b strain.

The quarantined Liberian-flagged ship had set sail from Santos in Brazil – also an important raw materials trading hub – to pick up a cargo of soy, the Health Ministry and the Argentine Marine League industry association said.

Only medical personnel will be allowed on board the ship, while the entire crew will have to be quarantined until test results are available, the ministry added.

Mpox, a viral infection that causes purulent lesions and flu-like symptoms, is usually mild but can be fatal. The clade 1b strain has raised concerns because it appears to spread more easily through routine close contact.

According to WHO data last week, MPOX cases caused by other strains have been reported in about 13 countries in the Americas this year.

Danish pharmaceutical company Bavarian Nordic is expected to decide this week whether to ramp up its vaccine production, and Swiss pharmaceutical group Roche has announced plans to increase its laboratory testing capacity.