Argentina suspects first case of mpox as entire cargo ship quarantined

Argentina quarantined a cargo ship over the first suspected case of mpox on the vessel, as an outbreak of a new fast-spreading variant triggered a global public health alert.

The Liberian-flagged ship raised the alert after one of its crew members of Indian nationality showed “cyst-like skin lesions predominantly on the chest and face”, the health ministry said.

The health authorities in the country have activated a public emergency protocol and quarantined the ship with crew members not allowed to deboard.

Medical personnel will be the only ones allowed to board the ship and inspect the crew member for the symptoms of mpox, it said. If the symptoms are similar to mpox, the medical team will take samples and conduct tests.

The crew will re in quarantine in the Parana River until the results of the tests are available.

The quarantined vessel named Ina-Lotte arrived 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.

It was bound for the San Lorenzo port in the Santa Fe province where it had to drop anchor in the river.

It comes a week after the World Health Organisation declared mpox a global health emergency over deaths from a deadlier strain of the virus clade 1b which spreads more easily through routine close contact.

Around 13 countries have reported mpox cases this year with more than 17,000 cases confirmed and 571 deaths in Africa this year alone.

The WHO’s highest form of alert, for the second time in two years, came after an outbreak of the disease accounting for more than 96 per cent of fatalities in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mpox, previously known as monkeypox, has two types, Clade 1 and Clade 2. Clade 2 caused a public health emergency in 2022 but was deemed relatively mild. Clade 1 has a high fatality rate and a mutant strain of it, called Clade 1b, has spread rapidly.

Pakistan, Sweden and the Philippines are the countries that have declared mpox cases apart from a number of African nations.

The disease, caused by the monkeypox virus, leads to flu-like symptoms along with pus-filled lesions. It is usually mild but can prove fatal to people with weakened immune systems, such as those with existing diseases.