Table Of Content
Similar travel warnings were issued by other health agencies and governments. During COVID, the options for cruises were limited, but now that restrictions have been lifted, more people are deciding to take that cruise they had been putting off. Surfaces or objects that are contaminated with norovirus can be cleaned with a high-level disinfectant like bleach, per Ostrosky. Psychology Today, a Substack entitled "Minded by Science" and have written articles for The New York Times, Time, The Guardian, The HuffPost, STAT, the MIT Technology Review and others. Follow me on Twitter (@bruce_y_lee) but don’t ask me if I know martial arts.
Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships
The Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) requires cruise ships to log and report the number of passengers and crew who say they have symptoms of gastrointestinal illness. Learn more about illnesses and outbreaks reported to VSP and find information about outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on cruise ships. It's a very common, highly contagious, ruthlessly efficient and uncomfortably bad virus affecting the stomach and large intestines. 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%.
Norovirus Cruise Ship Outbreaks Already Reach 10-Year High In 2023
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 total number of infected was 5542 (of those 5079 passengers and 463 crew). In 2013, the number of reported illness outbreaks on cruise ships was 22.
How does norovirus spread?
That’s the highest tally in 10-years, ever since 16 such outbreaks occurred in 2012, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vessel Sanitation Program. And with half of 2023 still to go, there’s a good chance that the 2012 count will be surpassed sometime later this year. The most recent norovirus outbreak was reported on the Viking Neptune cruise ship. During its June 6 to June 20 voyage, 110 of the ship’s 838 passengers, or 13.1 percent, were infected. In May, two outbreaks were reported on voyages led by Celebrity Cruises and Holland America. In March, Celebrity Cruises reported two norovirus outbreaks, as did Royal Caribbean International and Princess Cruises.
The latest instance was on a Viking Cruise — which sailed from June 6 to June 20 — where 110 passengers and nine crew members contracted the illness, according to the agency. Shockingly, those affected by the virus accounted for nearly 15% of the entire onboard population, making it the largest percentage of individuals affected by norovirus this year. Cruise lines are not required to compensate passengers who fall ill on a voyage; however, cruise lines will generally compensate passengers whose voyage is altered or canceled due to an outbreak. Once you have been exposed to Norovirus, it takes anywhere from one to three days for its symptoms to appear.
How do you get this stomach bug?
If the number hits 3% or more, cases must be reported to the CDC even if the ship is not scheduled to call on a U.S. port within the next 15 days. Norovirus is highly contagious and spreads when you touch a contaminated surface and then put your fingers in or near your mouth, such as when eating without washing your hands. It's also frequently spread through contaminated food, sometimes earning it the nickname "food poisoning," even though there are many pathogens that can cause foodborne illnesses.
How to Avoid Getting Norovirus on Cruise Ships - Health.com
How to Avoid Getting Norovirus on Cruise Ships.
Posted: Mon, 17 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
It causes a variety of symptoms including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain. People infected with the virus may also have headaches, fevers and body aches, and are at risk of dehydration. 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 a highly contagious virus often described as a “stomach bug,” the generic description of the leading cause of nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain and vomiting in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships surge to decade-high levels: How to avoid the stomach bug
Hydration is one of the most important things you can do to help prevent dehydration — the biggest complication of this illness. While this virus tends to be short-lived, treatment is based on symptomatic care. Norovirus is an illness that tends to have a wintertime seasonality with an uptake usually around February. And recent data from the CDC has noted that over 15% of norovirus tests are coming back positive.
Shipboard hospitals as facilities and equipment vary by cruise line and vessel. Clinic's size usually depends on the ship's capacity (passengers plus crew). Generally, bigger and newer ships offer larger and better-equipped medical facilities and are served by bigger infirmary staff. If seasickness symptoms are accompanied by diarrhea or fever, passengers should immediately seek medical treatment for Norovirus and avoid spreading the illness to others.
The spray is chemical-free, odourless, transparent and can be applied to all surfaces. The symptoms are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, indigestion, abdominal cramps. The illness lasts 1 to 4 days, but some people (especially elderly) may be contagious for up to 2 weeks after recovery. If you'd like to check out the outbreak information, you can find a detailed list of ships that have had acute gastroenteritis outbreaks (many of which were caused by norovirus), listed by year, about halfway down the CDC's outbreak page.
Volunteer crew members occupy both medical (surgeons, dentists, nurses) and general jobs (deckhands, seamen, engineers, machinists, electricians, teachers, cooks, welders, plumbers, agriculturalists. During the onboard illness outbreak, VSP requires the cruise company to activate the "Outbreak Prevention and Response Plan" (vessel's response to illness cases). VSP doesn't charge fees for consultations related to shipping facilities renovations or new ships. Cruise ships in particular have many of the conditions that make people susceptible to norovirus—close quarters, enclosed spaces, communal dining, and high turnover of passengers.
You can use hand sanitizers in addition to hand washing, but hand sanitizer is not a substitute for handwashing. It is important to continue washing your hands often even after you feel better. According to the CDC, 110 of 838 passengers and nine of the 455 crew members reported feeling ill during the trip. You can get norovirus illness many times in your life because there are many different types of noroviruses and one type may not protect you against the others.
Not only does it take the joy out of vacation, keeping passengers confined to their stateroom, but for older travelers, there’s a concern of dehydration, doctors say. Specifically, the medical staff from each cruise ship must submit a report with the number of ill passengers within 24 to 36 hours of its arrival at a U.S. port from a foreign port, even when no cases of gastrointestinal illness are present. They must also submit reports if 2% or more of the passengers and crew become ill and the ship is scheduled to visit a U.S. port within 15 days.
As part of the program, ships are required to adhere to stringent health and safety protocols that dictate everything from the cleaning of high-touch areas to how food is stored in freezers, refrigerators and galleys. People also are more likely to get sick now since pandemic restrictions have been lifted. For the past few years, people have not been exposed to as many common viruses and illnesses and now that exposure is rising, illnesses are bound to rise as well. “Infected people spread the virus widely and make it difficult for public health officials to contain the virus,” Boden-Albala said. "The opportunities for close person-to-person spread are so intense on a cruise ship that once this virus is introduced into that population, it has many, many opportunities to spread," Schaffner warned.
No comments:
Post a Comment