Argentina quarantines crew of cargo ship over suspected mpox outbreak; Mpox scare onboard bulk carrier in Argentina turns out to be chicken pox

Argentina quarantines crew of cargo ship over suspected mpox outbreak
Agence France-Presse Aug 22, 2024 https://tribune.net.ph/2024/08/21/argentina-quarantines-crew-of-cargo-sh...

An Indian seafarer aboard had cyst-like skin lesions on the chest and face

Health authorities in Argentina have placed the crew of a cargo ship in the Parana River under quarantine after it reported one of them as having symptoms of possible mpox infection.

The Argentine Naval League, the country’s health ministry and industry agency, identified the ship as a Liberian-flagged vessel coming from Santos, Brazil and was to load soy at the San Lorenzo port in the Santa Fe province, Reuters reports.

The ship’s report says that an Indian seafarer aboard had “cyst-like skin lesions on the chest and face and was isolated, the ministry said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

The vessel was ordered to anchor while its entire crew was placed under quarantine for medical testing.

The World Health Organization last week declared mpox as a global health emergency after a new variant of the virus that seems to spread rapidly was detected in Africa.

Mpox causes pus-filled skin lesions and flu-like symptoms.

Ivory Coast health authorities on Tuesday reported 28 cases of mpox, with one person dying from the virus that has killed hundreds in Democratic Republic of Congo.

The total has risen from six declared cases on 1 August.

The National Public Hygiene Institute recorded “28 confirmed cases including one death” across the country as of Tuesday, said an INHP doctor Daouda Coulibaly.

The fatal case and some others were recorded in the country’s economic capital Abidjan, the INHP said. Coulibaly said tests were being carried out to identify the strain of the latest mpox cases.

“The situation is no cause for alarm,” Coulibaly said. “We are seeing just the start of a nascent epidemic — there is no upsurge” in cases.

Mpox scare onboard bulk carrier in Argentina turns out to be chicken pox
Sam Chambers August 22, 2024 https://splash247.com/mpox-scare-onboard-bulk-carrier-in-argentina-turns...

An Indian crewmember on a bulk carrier in Argentina struck down with symptoms similar to mpox has been told he is in fact suffering from chicken pox.

The entire ship’s crew were quarantined earlier this week over fears that the skin lesions found on one seafarer were a strain of mpox.

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.

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