Passengers on Finnish ferries are notified after they have contracted measles – Public Health Agency

A case of measles has been diagnosed in a person on board a Viking Line flight with Viking Glory from Turku to Stockholm on Sunday 6 August. His fellow passengers may have been infected.

Fellow passengers are contacted via email

Passengers on the ferry in question – a total of about 3,500 people, nearly 2,000 of whom are from Sweden – have been contacted via email by the Public Health Authority and Viking Line about possible exposure. People who have previously received two doses of the measles vaccine, or who have had measles themselves, are well protected against the highly contagious disease.

Contact healthcare if symptoms appear

People who have traveled by ferry and who develop symptoms of measles are being asked to contact healthcare via 1177, for advice on where and how to seek care. It is important that people with symptoms do not sit in waiting rooms, or visit health centers without prior notification, because then they risk exposing others to infection.

Measles symptoms

The first symptoms of measles are a dry cough, irritation of the eyes, runny nose and fever, and only after a couple of days do characteristic rashes appear. A simple test can determine if you have measles, or if your symptoms are caused by something else. You are contagious four days before the rash appears until four days after.