A cruise ship quarantined for a reported case of measles has left the Caribbean island of St Lucia after health officials supplied 100 doses of vaccine to the ship, according to reports.
The Church of Scientology cruise ship was confined to port this week by island health officials after the highly contagious disease was detected onboard.
CNN reported that the ship had left St Lucia, and online ship traffic data showed the vessel was under way and headed for the island of Curaçao.
One case of measles had been confirmed on the ship, which had been docked in port near the capital, Castries, since Tuesday, Dr Merlene Frederick-James, St Lucia’s chief medical officer, said in a video statement.
“The confirmed case as well as other crew members are presently stable, but remain under surveillance by the ship’s doctor,” she said, noting that the incubation period of measles is 10 to 12 days before symptoms appear.
The number of measles cases in the US has reached a 25-year peak with more than 700 people diagnosed as of this week, part of an international resurgence in the disease.
NBC News, citing a St Lucia coastguard sergeant, reported that the ship was called Freewinds, which is the name of a 440ft vessel owned and operated by the Church of Scientology.
According to Reuters Eikon shipping data, a Panamanian-flagged cruise liner identified as SMV Freewinds had been docked in port near Castries on Thursday. It was at sea and expected to arrive at Curaçao on Saturday.
The Church of Scientology describes the Freewinds on its website as a floating “religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counselling in the Scientology religion”.
Church officials did not respond to requests for comment.
NBC News reported that nearly 300 passengers and crew were onboard the vessel, with one female crew member diagnosed with measles.
Public health officials blame declining vaccination rates in some communities on misinformation about inoculation, and say it has left those populations vulnerable to the rapid spread of infection among those with no immunity to the virus.
The vast majority of US cases have occurred in children who have not received vaccines against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), officials say.
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