Norovirus Outbreaks Surge on Cruises: Here's How to Avoid the Bug
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There are no internationally specified regulations governing ship infirmaries and medical staffing. Each company has its own standards provided for its passengers' healthcare. "Cunard confirms that a small number of guests had reported symptoms of gastrointestinal illness on board Queen Victoria, Cunard Cruise Line told NBC News in a statement. Around 140 people have fallen sick with a gastrointestinal illness onboard the Cunard Queen Victoria cruise ship that docked in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Jan. 22 when the CDC began monitoring the outbreak. The CDC estimates only about 1% of all annual U.S. norovirus cases happen on cruise ships.
How common is norovirus on cruise ships? Here’s why you shouldn’t worry
Nearly 30 Silverseas cruise passengers fall ill with diarrhea at sea - New York Post
Nearly 30 Silverseas cruise passengers fall ill with diarrhea at sea.
Posted: Tue, 16 Apr 2024 23:44:00 GMT [source]
The agency releases information on outbreaks when 3 percent or more of passengers or crew report symptoms to medical staff on board. Holland America's the Nieuw Amsterdam, which set sail on May 6, is among a string of 11 cruise ships to report gastrointestinal illness onboard this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 213, or over 10%, of passengers and 35, or 4%, of crew on the Nieuw Amsterdam have been reported sick during the voyage that lasts until May 21, mostly with diarrhea and vomiting. 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.
What is Norovirus and how is it spread?
This is done 24 hrs prior to arrival at any US port of call from a foreign port. In the following table, you can see all 2019-reported Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships. It shows the number of sick passengers and crew (with the respective percentage to all), along with the corresponding CDC report pages (if available) as outgoing links.
Rising cases of norovirus
Medical staff on cruise ships under U.S. jurisdiction are required to report gastrointestinal illness cases to the Vessel Sanitation Program when at least two percent of people onboard are infected. During that time frame, approximately 127 million passengers sailed on the 252 cruise ships under VSP jurisdiction. Of those 127 million cruisers, 26,450 reported symptoms of gastrointestinal illness while on board. It sounds like a large number, but it amounts to just 0.02% (two one-hundredths of one percent) of cruisers throughout those 14 years, with the total number of cases decreasing from 4,507 in 2006 to 1,201 in 2019.
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. "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. Last month, an outbreak of norovirus — a common stomach bug that causes vomiting and diarrhea — sickened 92 passengers and eight crew members on a Celebrity Cruises ship. That’s how many people have been infected with the norovirus while aboard cruise ships this year, according to CDC data.
Transmission often occurs in crowded environments where tiny particles can float through the air, and Schaffner says cruises can create the perfect environment for norovirus outbreaks. A large group living and eating in proximity, he said, can serve as a breeding ground for the disease. There have been 13 outbreaks of norovirus on cruises this year, according to the U.S.
Norovirus Cases Surging on Cruise Ships, What are the Signs and Symptoms
The outbreaks happened on Celebrity Cruises, Viking Cruises, Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean International and P&O Cruises. 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 cases aboard cruise ships have spiked for the first time in over 10 years, and experts believe more lenient travel restrictions and an increase in cruise passengers following the Covid pandemic are to blame. Hand hygiene is key to prevent the spread of the highly contagious virus — but the way you clean your hands matters, experts note.
Cruises are back — and so are stomach viruses, diarrhea, and vomiting onboard
The twice-yearly exam is notoriously thorough and challenging, with scores of 85 or below considered failing. First and foremost, wash your hands often with hot water and soap; the CDC recommends hitting the sink before and after eating and smoking, after touching your face, after using the restroom, and whenever your hands are dirty. Limit person-to-person contact as much as possible (we're not saying you absolutely must refuse the captain a handshake at his cocktail party ... just use your judgment throughout the cruise). Norovirus is named after an outbreak that occurred in Norwalk, Ohio, in the late 1960s. The sick guests “experienced mild symptoms of a stomach-related illness,” Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement Sunday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 28 of Silver Nova’s 633 guests reported being ill during a voyage that began on March 31, along with one of the vessel’s crew members.
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The CDC advises frequent hand washing with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds to prevent the spread of norovirus. Key times for handwashing include after using the restroom or changing diapers, and before eating, preparing food, or handling medicine. No one wants to get sick, especially on vacation, and Royal Caribbean implemented a program in 2023 that got rid of one of the worst illnesses people sometimes catch on cruise ships. The most recent outbreak hit passengers and crew members on board a Viking Cruises trip from Iceland that docked in New York on June 20.
Hospital ships are designated as floating medical facilities (hospitals). Obviously, the first thing is to go to the ship's infirmary (medical center) and contact the doctor. You should drink plenty of water as dehydration is a side-effect of the illness.
And recent data from the CDC has noted that over 15% of norovirus tests are coming back positive. The ship project started in March 1999 with the vessel's acquisition through a donation from Balcraig Foundation (UK), which purchased the boat for US$6,5 million. Search for medical assistance - consult the ship's physician if no actions provide relief. So keep your hands clean, keep your mind clear, always hope for the best. Bad, if meant to happen, will happen anyway, and nothing can change it. The cruise terminal and the near area were thoroughly cleaned and sanitized.
Norovirus on ships is spread through contaminated water, foods and surfaces (public restrooms, railings, doorknobs, handles, board games-cards-puzzles-toys, etc). Norovirus withstands chlorine, prolonged exposure outside the body, as well as temperature extremes. Like a virus, Norwalk can't be effectively treated with antibiotics, making it extremely difficult to eliminate in closed environments - like cruise vessels.
Through the 613 days of infection, the virus evolved into a "novel immune-evasive variant" that had mutated over 50 times. Earlier in June, passenger Brigitte Metzger Harding posted on TikTok how her cruise sprang into action once people came down with the bug. If you are around a family member who is sick or taking care of someone wiping down surfaces that are shared can also help decrease transmission of this virus within a household.
According to data from the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program, the number of norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships docking at U.S. ports had years of steady decline after 2015. Overall rates of acute gastroenteritis on cruise ships in the U.S. also decreased from 2006 to 2019. Such viral/bacterial outbreak incidents affect the vacation experience of thousands of people, being packed up in a floating resort for many days on end. In confined spaces with frequent passenger turnover (like big capacity cruise ships), it is easy for diseases to spread - whether food- or air-borne, or otherwise.
What causes Norovirus on cruise vessels is mainly contaminated food/water. When it comes to ships, it spreads mostly through physical contact with sick people or handling contaminated objects. This includes sharing food/utensils and poor hygiene (not washing hands after bathroom use). The virus also spreads fecally, so you can catch it into the onboard laundry, or while changing diapers, etc. However, many passengers likely can blame a sick crewmember for the virus.
A few years ago an experimental Norovirus vaccine (applied as nasal spray) was developed by the "Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology" (Arizona State University). The cruise ship is scheduled to stop in San Francisco on Feb. 6 and Honolulu on Feb. 12 before sailing to countries in Oceania, according to the Cunard website. Most people get better after a few days, but severe cases may require hospitalization.
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