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 near the inland grains port of Rosario over a suspected case of mpox onboard, an industry official said on Tuesday.

Fernando Morales, president of industry body the Argentine Naval League, said that a Liberian-flagged ship set to pick up soy cargo had been ordered to drop anchor in the river while a test on a crew member was carried out.

"A crew member with fever and weakness was taken to a hospital in San Nicolas. There they carried out some tests and they say that in principle it could be mpox," Morales said, adding that the diagnosis was not yet confirmed.

The World Health Organization 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.

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

Morales said health authorities were guarding the ship and would examine other members of the crew.

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.

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 and Rosalba O'Brien)