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Miami cruise ship outbreak reflects rampant vessel disease threat, Part 2

Second of two parts.

Another CDC report indicates that between November, 2002 and December, 2006, 10 cruise ships alone combined for 17 outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis (acute stomach problems) and over 4500 passengers stricken. One such outbreak aboard a naval vessel in 1997 affected 1,806 sailors. Almost 700 passengers were affected in a 1998 cruise ship outbreak. Another 1998 waterborne infection struck nearly 200 crew members.

According to the site Cruising Healthy, nearly 80% of cruise ships returning from voyages to U.S. ports report at least one passenger or crew member being confirmed by the ship medical staff as contracting gastrointestinal illness. Over 147,000 passengers and crew from 2000 to 2008 contracted some form of the illness.

Norovirus is a word not very well known to the general public but it comes up frequently in connection with maritime illnesses. Noroviruses designate a group of viruses causing the stomach flu or gastroenteritis. Other names that had been used in the past include Norwalk viruses and caliviruses. Symptoms include nausea, diarrhea and cramping. Not as severe as LD, it generally lasts one to two days. It is not treatable or preventable by antibiotics.

Norovirus can survive for weeks on surfaces at room temperature and is difficult to kill. Doctors say only chlorine bleach will kill it. Not even alcohol wipes will do the trick. The virus is passed through the vomit or stool of infected people and by direct contact with an infected person, eating or drinking contaminated food or liquids and by touching dirty surfaces and putting hands in the mouth.

Symptoms typically begin 24-48 hours after contact with the bacteria but may start as early as 12 hours. There is no vaccine for treatment or prevention. Antibiotics will not help. Young children and the elderly are most at risk.

Many shipboard outbreaks have been traced to unsanitary bathrooms. Some authorities say vessel restrooms are improperly cleaned and a sanitation program run by the CDC does not record unsanitary ones.

The CDC says the best way to prevent norovirus infection is by washing hands frequently, cleaning surfaces with bleach and rinsing fruits and vegetables. Infected persons should avoid preparing food for at least three days after symptoms are completely gone.

In July, 2009, a British law firm representing 17 passengers who sailed aboard a Thomson Spirit liner threatened a class action lawsuit against the company following a norovirus outbreak on an “Iberian Delights” cruise in May. The firm Irwin Mitchell alleged that hundreds of passengers were hammered by the outbreak with several passengers seeking medical attention for stomach problems.

In another incident from July, 54 passengers and 21 crew members came down with norovirus on the cruise ship Marco Polo, berthed in Scotland. In May, a Holland America cruise ship, the MS Oosterdam, was forced to return to San Diego from Mexico after 106 passengers contracted the virus

In July of 2006, the family of a 21-year old Michigan man filed a class action law suit against Carnival Cruise Lines after his death during a week-long Caribbean cruise. The suit said several passengers came down with norovirus after consuming contaminated food or water on the vessel. Two days after the ship reached Florida, Jonathan Kallas, who was a second year University of Michigan chemistry student, died at his home due to norovirus complications.

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