Brazil reports suspected mpox case in Sao Paulo airport's migration area

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -A suspected case of mpox has been reported at Brazil's main international airport near Sao Paulo, health and sanitation regulator Anvisa said on Monday.

A passenger who had been in an area of the airport cordoned off for those waiting to request refugee status since earlier this month presented "signs and symptoms compatible with mpox," Anvisa said.

The agency did not state where the passenger, who was later sent to the hospital, had traveled from or their home country.

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization (WHO) 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.

Brazil's health ministry said more than 700 confirmed or probable cases of mpox have been reported in the country this year, although none of them are of the new variant.

Anvisa, which said no other suspected cases were found, did not say whether the potential case could be of the new variant.

More than 650 migrants without visas, particularly from India, Nepal and Vietnam, were waiting to enter Brazil through the Guarulhos airport as of Friday, according to a spokesman for the public defender's office, which alleged the migrants' human rights were being violated and their health deteriorating.

Last week, Brazil's government announced that it would tighten entry rules to stem a flow of foreigners using Brazil as a stopover to get to the United States and Canada.

In the statement on Monday, Anvisa said it took the temperature and checked the skin of the other passengers in the restricted area, while also implementing cleaning and disinfection measures.

(Reporting by Andre Romani; Editing by Kylie Madry and David Gregorio)