Last Saturday night, January 25th, dock workers at the Port of Santos, raised suspicions that the crew of a moored vessel was not healthy. According to the Santos Dockers Union (Sidestiva), the workers were concerned that crew members were ill with the recent coronavirus that gripped China over recent weeks. Allegedly the ship’s crew were coughing and operators at the Guarujá Export Terminal (TEG) boarded the vessel wearing gloves and masks.

The Liberian flag KM Singapore vessel arrived from China and its most recent calls were at ports in South Africa, India and Singapore. The ship is waiting to load soybeans in bulk.

Anvisa, Brazil’s Health Watchdog, said there were no elements to justify concerns regarding possible coronavirus activity adding that the use of masks and gloves by Chinese crew members was due to working conditions related to loading bulk cargoes.

Port of Paranaguá

A further suspicion was raised on social networks regarding activity at the Port of Paranaguá. The public company Portos do Paraná released an official note in which it clarifies that there is no truth to a report on social media that a crew member was suspected of infection at the Port of Paranaguá.

According to the organization, the port guard and the medical team of the Port of Paranaguá Unions Management (OGMO) boarded the Great Praise ship, which is moored at berth 208, after rumors spread on social media. The agency reinforced that it is in contact with Anvisa and other health agencies. It added that all necessary measures have already been taken, and urged the media to exercise caution to avoid misinformation.

Porto do Itaqui has epidemic control protocol

The Port of Itaqui, apparently has a different strategy, and has made an announcement stating it acts in accordance with international health and safety protocols, keeping its Contingency Plan for Subjects of International Interest in Public Health updated and a permanent post of Anvisa – National Health Surveillance Agency in the port area.

According to the company, the plan is tested annually through simulated face-to-face exercises and has the participation of Anvisa, state and municipal health departments, the Brazilian Navy and the Federal Police. All ships arriving at the port are monitored by Anvisa and only dock if the Maritime Health Declaration is in accordance with the current protocol.

Anvisa
According to Anvisa, the National Health Surveillance Agency, the Health Ministry set up a committee on January 22nd, aimed at preparing the public health network for treatment of possible cases in Brazil, in order to respond to eventual occurrences in a unified and immediate way. Anvisa is part of this Emergency Operations Center (COE) – Coronavirus.

Note from the Ministry of Infrastructure
With the appearance of cases of respiratory disease caused by coronavirus in China, the Ministry of Infrastructure – as coordinator of the National Commission of Port Authorities (Conaportos) and of the National Commission of Airport Authorities (Conaero) -, informed that it is acting in in line with the Ministry of Health and the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) in order to keep Brazilian ports and airports on alert about preventive measures and procedures related to the movement of passengers from that country. In a possible report of a suspected case on board, Anvisa will adopt the protocol for this situation, with the support of the other authorities and port and airport operators.

How the coronavirus is and how it behaves
Identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December, the coronavirus has the following characteristics:

– Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that get their name from their appearance under the microscope – they are spherical and their surfaces are covered with “crown” -like stakes.

– Coronavirus infections have a wide range of symptoms, including fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. Mild cases can cause symptoms similar to the cold, while severe cases can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), kidney failure and death.

– Like other coronaviruses, China’s newly identified coronavirus is being transmitted from person to person via droplets when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. It can also spread to contaminated surfaces, such as door handles or handrails.

– Infection with the newly identified virus has an incubation period of between 1 and 14 days and there are limited reports that it may also be spreading before symptoms appear.

– Experts in infectious diseases and viruses say the scale of the current outbreak now points to “self-sustaining” human-to-human transmission. They estimate that each infected person is infecting an average of two to three more people.

– Testing for the new virus from China involves using a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that identifies the viral RNA in a sample. These samples can be from swabs (material collection procedure) in the throat, cough samples or blood samples from very sick patients.

Cases around the world

The coronavirus originating in Wuhan already has 4,583 confirmed cases worldwide, with 106 deaths, reports the CNN network. The majority of confirmed cases are in China (4,515), and all deaths from the disease have been recorded in Chinese territory.

The second country with the most cases of infection is Thailand, at 14. Hong Kong is third with 8 cases.

Worldwide, there are 18 countries with confirmed cases of coronavirus infection. Outside Asia, there are five cases in the USA; one in Canada; three in France; and one in Germany.

In Brazil, the Ministry of Health confirmed a suspicious case in Minas Gerais, a 22-year-old woman who was recently in the city of Wuhan, China. She is hospitalized in Belo Horizonte with symptoms that raise suspicion about a possible contamination since she came from the city that is considered the epicenter in the virus outbreak in China.

Sources: G1, Valor, Anvisa. Ports of Paraná, Port of Itaqui, Ministry of Infrastructure and Reuters

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