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The authorities of Saint Lucia, an eastern Caribbean island, quarantined a cruise ship after discovering a confirmed case of measles a board. Merlene Fredericks-James, Chief Medical Officer of the Island, told the Associated Press Thursday that the ship was still in port and that no one had been allowed to leave it.
"An infected person can easily infect other people," she said in a statement. She said that the ship's doctor had requested 100 doses of measles vaccine "and that this is currently coming from our supplies, at no cost".
The Saint Lucia Ministry of Health confirmed Thursday that the vessel involved was the Freewinds. This 440-foot ship would belong to the Church of Scientology. According to the church's website, the ship, which is normally moored in the Caribbean island of Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles, "is the home of the Flag Ship Service Service (FSSO), a religious retreat dispensing the most advanced level of spiritual counseling in the religion of Scientology. "
An unidentified person who answered the phone at the church's press center said that no one was immediately available to comment.
The authorities of St. Lucia have not provided any additional details about the person on board who contracted measles, but Fredericks-James said in a statement that "the case confirmed, as well as other members of the 39, crew and passengers, are stable and remain under surveillance "by the ship. doctor. She added that medical supervision would be needed during the incubation period of measles, which ranged from 10 to 12 days before the onset of symptoms.
Measles is very contagious and spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. In fact, it is so contagious that if a person is infected, nearly 90% of his non-immune relatives will also be infected.
Symptoms of measles include high fever, runny nose, and rash with red spots. Most people get better, but measles can cause serious complications, including pneumonia, swelling of the brain and even death in some cases. "The disease can be particularly severe in young children who are not immune," noted Fredericks-James.
Measles has sickened more than 700 people in 22 US states so far this year – the largest number of cases in 25 years. Federal officials said the outbreak of the disease was largely due to misinformation about vaccines unvaccinated people are vulnerable to the spread of the virus when cases are brought back from abroad.
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