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Norovirus spreads easily in close quarters, such as those found on cruise ships. Most recently, a norovirus outbreak in June on the Viking Neptune sickened 110 passengers (over 13% of the ship's guests) and nine crew members with vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps, according to the CDC. The CDC has tracked outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on cruise ships through its Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) since 1994. It's a very common, highly contagious, ruthlessly efficient and uncomfortably bad virus affecting the stomach and large intestines.
CDC ship illness outbreak investigations
The navies of USA, UK, Australia, China, France, Italy, Spain, Argentina, and Japan have some classes of military ships fitted with onboard hospitals. Hospital ships are designated as floating medical facilities (hospitals). Norovirus cases have spiked across the United States this year, which some experts say is the result of ending COVID-19 restrictions. The ship is due to arrive at Port Everglades on Tuesday, April 16, and there appears to be no delay in her scheduled arrival. Her next voyage, scheduled to depart the same day, is a 20-night one-way from Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco, California, including a full transit of the Panama Canal.
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Cruise ships are required to report gastrointestinal illness cases to the CDC before arriving from a foreign port, or when 2% of the crew and passengers have the illness. Norovirus is often referred to as a "stomach bug" or "stomach flu" (although it is not a form of flu). It causes a variety of symptoms including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain.
Cruises
To try to help prevent the spread of stomach viruses at sea, the CDC randomly inspects cruise ships and scores them on a scale of 0 to 100 through the Vessel Sanitation Program. Inspection scores of 85 and lower are considered "not satisfactory" by the agency. According to the CDC, of the confirmed cases, 28 are reported from passengers out of the 633 travelers onboard (4.42%), while just one is a crew member out of the 538 staff onboard (.19%). At full capacity, Silver Nova can welcome 728 guests, and her full crew complement can reach 556 team members. The industrial-size servings of food on a cruise ship with hundreds of passengers can be particularly worrisome, since once the virus enters the food it can spread rapidly.
Next Sailing Not Yet Impacted
Food can also get more easily contaminated with the virus if it sits out for several hours, as is often the case with buffet-style meals. On ships where outbreaks occur, the crew conducts a deep cleaning of the ship after passengers have disembarked and before the next sailing begins. In cases where outbreaks are particularly severe, subsequent sailings could be canceled to allow for more thorough sanitization. They ask passengers who feel ill during their cruises to report symptoms to the medical center and keep themselves isolated in their cabins.
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In the case of the Royal Caribbean outbreak, the CDC is testing specimens taken from sick people onboard the ship and lists the cause of the outbreak as unknown. Nearly 30 people aboard a luxury cruise liner known for its phenomenal cuisine have fallen ill thanks to a gastrointestinal outbreak that swept through the ship. Cruise Radio prioritizes well-balanced cruise news coverage and accurate reporting, paired with ship reviews and tips. The Vessel Sanitation Program monitors vessel cleanliness, and there is no correlation between scores received and outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness. The twice-yearly exam is notoriously thorough and challenging, with scores of 85 or below considered failing. The exact cause for the increase in the number of norovirus cases is not clear, but the increasing demand for cruises could be one explanation for the rise in reported cases, said Labus.
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C.D.C. Investigating Gastrointestinal Illness on Luxury Cruise Ship - The New York Times
C.D.C. Investigating Gastrointestinal Illness on Luxury Cruise Ship.
Posted: Thu, 08 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Yeah, even though norovirus is known as the “Winter vomiting bug,” it’s activity is not necessarily confined to the colder months. What’s more, the CDC has established a rigorous Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) to help prevent the overall spread of illnesses on cruise ships. Not only do they inspect a cruise ship’s medical center, but they also monitor their portable water systems, dining rooms, housekeeping procedures, heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and more. That’s how many people have been infected with the norovirus while aboard cruise ships this year, according to CDC data.
Nearly 30 Silversea cruise passengers get sick in gastrointestinal illness outbreak - USA TODAY
Nearly 30 Silversea cruise passengers get sick in gastrointestinal illness outbreak.
Posted: Mon, 15 Apr 2024 22:24:45 GMT [source]
Together, we can work towards ensuring that cruise ships remain a place of relaxation and enjoyment, rather than a breeding ground for this troublesome virus. So if you are about to go cruising, how do you avoid getting a norovirus infection, beside, of course, not going on the cruise? Use soap and water since hand sanitizer may not kill or inactivate the virus. Just because many have eased up on Covid-19 precautions doesn’t mean that you should stop washing your hands.
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In 2015, Zika virus reached Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. In February 2020, the shipowner cruise company Lindblad Expeditions announced the "Premium Purity" program with a shipwide cleaning system based on ACT CleanCoat technology. The innovative ship cleaning process is based on photocatalytic antibacterial spray that when activated by light kills viruses, bacteria, airborne microbes, mould. The disinfecting product and technology were developed by the Danish company ACT Global AS (Copenhagen).
That means data for norovirus on cruise ships is more readily available than for other entities. It's easy to make norovirus case numbers sound alarming, but context matters. For example, 100 cases on a single ship might seem like a lot, but on a vessel like Oasis of the Seas, which carries more than 5,400 passengers, 100 cases are only about 2% of the onboard population. This move complied with established CDC health protocols to report gastrointestinal outbreaks affecting at least 2% of a cruise ship’s passengers and crew members of 3% of the passengers. While cruise ships have strict sanitation practices, the resilience of norovirus complicates matters.
You actually need to use soap and water to physically destroy it and remove it from your hands,” Ostrosky previously told TODAY.com. However, as travel surges this summer, travel-related illnesses are expected to surge, as well. “I think our travel frenzy after COVID is partially fueling this continued spread (of norovirus),” says Ostrosky.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 13 norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships so far in 2023. The last time the industry's yearly gastrointestinal illness outbreak total was that high was back in 2016 — and it's only July. After a lull during the COVID-19 pandemic, cases of the highly contagious virus that causes diarrhea and vomiting, aka stomach flu, spiked this winter and spring on land.
An "illness outbreak" is considered when 3% or more of all passengers report symptoms to the ship's med staff. In such cases, the CDC requires cruise lines to file a medical report. On all three vessels, norovirus was determined as the cause of the illness. The outbreak aboard Queen Victoria was the largest, affecting 154 guests and crew members with vomiting and diarrhea. "Health officials track illness on cruise ships. So outbreaks are found and reported more quickly on a cruise ship than on land," reads the CDC's facts page.
Often called "stomach flu" (the med term is "Gastroenteritis") the infection results in massive vomiting and diarrhea. Sickness outbreaks are considered as such if the percentage of infected people is over 3%. The virus is not seasonal and usually not serious (in medical terms). It hits 1 in 5 people annually and is the cause of ~50% of all foodborne illness outbreaks in the USA and for ~90% of all non-bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. In 2012, the number of reported illness outbreaks on cruise ships was 34.
The allure of the open sea, captivating itineraries, and the luxurious promise of a carefree escape have long made cruising a popular choice for vacationers. However, this industry’s lustrous appeal has recently been overshadowed by a surge in outbreaks of a particularly stubborn and contagious pathogen — Norovirus. Lastly, “if you see someone sick like vomiting or having diarrhea, remove yourself from the area and notify cruise staff if they are not already aware,” Boden-Albala says.
Norovirus is highly contagious and can spread directly through sick people and contaminated surfaces, food, or drinks. Shipboard medical service fees vary and are usually set by medical practitioners. In most cruise ship hospitals, some supplies and medications are provided to passengers and crew for free - like aspirin, seasickness pills, small bandages. However, unlike on land, most basic travel insurance policies don't cover medical treatments on cruise ships as they are not from the patient's primary caregiver.
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