Argentina quarantines grains ship over suspected mpox case

By Eliana Raszewski and Walter Bianchi

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) -Argentine authorities have quarantined a cargo ship in the Parana River over a suspected case of mpox onboard, the government said on Tuesday, as global public health authorities remain on alert for a new faster-spreading variant of the virus.

The quarantined Liberian-flagged ship was sailing from Santos, Brazil - also a major commodities hub - to pick up soy cargo, according to the health ministry and industry body the Argentine Naval League.

The World Health Organization (WHO) last week declared mpox a global public health emergency 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 its spread outside Africa.

The ship near Argentina's inland grains port of Rosario alerted authorities that "one of its crew members of Indian nationality showed cyst-like skin lesions predominantly on the chest and face," the ministry said in a statement, adding the person had been isolated from the rest of the crew.

The ministry said public health emergency protocol was then activated and the ship, which had been bound for the San Lorenzo port in the Santa Fe province, had to drop anchor in the river.

Only medical personnel will be able to board the ship, while the whole crew will be required to quarantine pending test results, the ministry added.

Mpox, a viral infection that causes pus-filled lesions and flu-like symptoms, is usually mild but can kill. The clade 1b strain has caused concern because it seems to spread more easily through routine close contact.

Some 13 countries have reported mpox cases caused by other strains across the Americas this year, according to WHO data as of last week. Argentina has previously recorded eight cases, though none were the clade 1b strain.

Denmark's Bavarian Nordic is set to decide this week on whether to ramp up vaccine production, while Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche has said it is looking to boost its laboratory testing capacity.

(Reporting by Eliana Raszewski, Nicolas Misculin and Walter Bianchi; Editing by Adam Jourdan, Sarah Morland, Rosalba O'Brien and Jamie Freed)