WILLEMSTAD.- The Head of the Department of Epidermiology Dr. Izzy Gerstenbluth, explained yesterday, that aboard the Freewinds there is only one case of Measles. "We have eradicated measles from Curaçao, and that is how we want to maintain it, which is why we are doing our job." Gerstenbluth during the weekend went up to the Freewinds and interviewed all the passengers and crew on board the ship. Based on this, Gerstenbluth explained that there is no reason to panic. "Our goal is to keep Curaçao free of Measles, so it is important that we have the highest possible level of vaccination.

According to Gerstenbluth, the chance for a person to contract measles in Curaçao is very small. As is known, there is a crew member in Freewinds, who showed symptoms of measles on April 29th. The cruise ship was in Curaçao between April 22nd and 28th. Measles is a highly contagious disease if you are not vaccinated or if you have not got measles in your life yet. Freewinds left St. Lucia and returned to Curaçao, which serves as his base.

Dr. Gerstenbluth explained that for us here in Curaçao it is almost normal for most of us to be vaccinated or we have already suffered measles at some time in our lives, which means that we will never get it again. But there are countries in the world where this situation does not exist and an outbreak of this disease may arise because it is the most highly contagious.