Ship quarantined in Argentina due to suspected Mpox case

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 20 (Reuters) – A ship on Argentina's Parana River near the grain transshipment port of Rosario has been quarantined because of a suspected case of Mpox, local media reported on Tuesday.

The ship sails under the Liberian flag, the news portal Infobae reported, citing sources from the Argentine naval association.

According to the newspaper, the ship's captain reported that a person on board with “symptoms consistent with the virus” needed medical attention.

The test results are still pending, Infobae reported.

In Argentina, the country's health authorities have so far confirmed eight cases of MPOX.

The disease, a viral infection that causes purulent lesions and flu-like symptoms, is usually mild but can be fatal. A new variant of Mpox has spread rapidly in Africa, prompting the World Health Organization to declare Mpox a global health emergency.

(Reporting by Eliana Raszewski, Nicolas Misculin and Walter Bianchi; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Sarah Morland)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024.

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