Quarantine a Scientology church cruise with 300 people on board for a measles case

The authorities of the Caribbean island of Santa Lucia they put in quarantine a cruise with about 300 pbadengers on board after a confirmation measles case among the crew, said the US channel NBC.

"Measles is a highly contagious disease. Anyone with poor immunity can contract the disease if there has been close contact with the confirmed case, "said Merlene Fredericks-James, Chief Medical Officer of the island.

"Therefore, it is likely that other people on board the ship were exposed," he said to justify the measure. The doctor on board isolated the confirmed case, a member of the crew "stable," Fredericks-James said.

The cruise is in quarantine since Monday morning. As they point NBC and the newspaper The Washington Post, the ship, identified as Freewinds, belongs to the Church of Scientology.

According to the page of the Church of Scientology, the Freewinds, 134 meters, used for religious retreats since 1988. For a Scientologist, the ship's approach is "the most important spiritual achievement of his life and brings about the full realization of his immortality," they say.

The Church of Scientology has not expressed any specific position on the administration of vaccines to its followers, though, according to US media, many of its members are anti-vaccines.

United States Business Register

Although measles was officially eliminated from the United States in 2000, the number of cases reached a new record last week. 704 until now this year, the maximum in 25 yearsinformed the health authorities on Monday.

Of the cases, 3% had pneumonia, while 9% they were serious enough to drift hospitalizationssaid the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Robert Redfield.