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Flesh Eating Bacteria caught on cruise ship?


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I came across this article, and of course for "Illustration Purposes", the article HAD to include a picture of a cruise ship.....and of course, a RC ship. Does anyone know for sure what ship this happened on? I believe what all of these people fail to understand is that THOUSANDS every day get on and off of cruise ships with no medical fallout! Sheech, the press just loves when something bad happens on a cruise ship! Anyway, here's the link:

http://www.gadling.com/2009/05/07/flesh-eating-bacteria-consumes-cruise-passenger-in-24-hours/?icid=main|main|dl4|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gadling.com%2F2009%2F05%2F07%2Fflesh-eating-bacteria-consumes-cruise-passenger-in-24-hours%2F

 

P.S. - If this is already posted here somewhere, my sincerest appologies!

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eeeew... and bizarre at the same time.

 

Another article on the same story I read said that the man fell while on shore, and that the bacteria could have been caught then, not necessarily on the ship.

 

But either way... ewww.. One of those freak happenstances.

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That can happen anywhere...Yikes! I just saw a story about a woman who cut her finger while chopping veggies, and within 2 days, they had to amputate her arm and shoulder to keep the infection from killing her...horrifying.

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That can happen anywhere...Yikes! I just saw a story about a woman who cut her finger while chopping veggies, and within 2 days, they had to amputate her arm and shoulder to keep the infection from killing her...horrifying.

 

Isn't "Oprah" a great show? :D

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We've read about this with interest, too. The traveler died in February (it's in the news now because the inquest -- to determine the cause of death -- has begun in Britain), and, thus far, we haven't been able to determine on which ship he was cruising at the time. As Mediterranean itineraries are often port-intensive, the infection could have easily been contracted off the ship. We haven't heard of any other cases like this, thankfully. It's very unfortunate and our thoughts are with this family.

I'll let you know if we learn any other details.

Melissa

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Raymond Evans, 58, of Fairfield, Aberystwyth, West Wales in the United Kingdom embarked on a Mediterranean cruise aboard Costa Cruise Lines' (Carnival Corp) Costa Concordia never dreaming he would catch a rare virus aboard and die from it. But, that is the conclusion an Aberystwyth inquest panel.

 

This came from another web site.

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I think it is par for the course that the media wrongfully posted a RCI ship photo in the article, when it was actually a Costa Ship. Hopefully RCI can get a retraction printed from that outlet.

 

Eric

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This happened to my husband many years ago. He got a cut on his finger,cleaned it with Hydrogen Peroxide and put a band aid on it. This happened on a Friday afternoon, by Monday we knew something was wrong and took him to the doctor. He was put in the hospital immediately and treated for a couple of days with an IV antibiotic. Thank God he survived but the doctor said it was close. This did not happen on a ship. He was at work. It really has nothing to do with a cruise or a cruise line.

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The following was actually posted at the end of the article. I hate that they had to show a picture of an RCI ship.

 

The cruise ship photo above is for illustrative purposes only - that is not necessarily the ship involved in this incident.

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Raymond Evans, 58, of Fairfield, Aberystwyth, West Wales in the United Kingdom embarked on a Mediterranean cruise aboard Costa Cruise Lines' (Carnival Corp) Costa Concordia never dreaming he would catch a rare virus aboard and die from it. But, that is the conclusion an Aberystwyth inquest panel.

 

This came from another web site.

 

So this inquest said a "virus"? I don't think so. Somebody is misquoting the pathologist. Flesh-eating disease is bacterial.

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The following was actually posted at the end of the article. I hate that they had to show a picture of an RCI ship.

 

The cruise ship photo above is for illustrative purposes only - that is not necessarily the ship involved in this incident.

Whats it really matter? 99.9% of the population wouldnt know an RCI ship if it ran them over. Certainly not from that picture, And if you click on the picture, yes, it does say Brilliance of the Seas. But 99.9% of the population wouldn't even know that ship is part of RCI's fleet.

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Whats it really matter? 99.9% of the population wouldnt know an RCI ship if it ran them over. Certainly not from that picture, And if you click on the picture, yes, it does say Brilliance of the Seas. But 99.9% of the population wouldn't even know that ship is part of RCI's fleet.

 

The problem is that more people who see the name of the ship will remember it and associate it with the story, than will notice the disclaimer that the ship in the picture is not the one involved in the situation. If you question them later their recollection, even though it may be vague, will be that there was some story about 'flesh eating bacteria' and a cruise ship called Brilliance of the Seas. In most instances where a news story illustrates a story about cruising with a picture of an RCI or Carnival ship, we can laugh about the fact that the ship or line pictured is not actually the subject of the story but in this type of situation the misidentification can have serious consequences. Unfortunately any correction will probably never catch up to the original article.

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Whats it really matter? 99.9% of the population wouldnt know an RCI ship if it ran them over. Certainly not from that picture, And if you click on the picture, yes, it does say Brilliance of the Seas. But 99.9% of the population wouldn't even know that ship is part of RCI's fleet.

 

Well then, that 0.1% that would know, by your calculations, is approximately 306,391 people. If they know it's a RCCL ship, and didn't see the disclaimer, they could possibly assume RC is in the Flesh Eating Bacteria business. Let's say only half choose another cruise line over RC because of this. Heck, let's say 3 out of every 4. That's 76,597 people. If the average cruise price is $1000, based on double occupancy of course, then the loss from this is somewhere in the ball park of......drumroll please......$76,597,000.00 :eek: And we all know there are idiots out there that will claim something like this will keep them from cruising, then turn around and go to a buffet and use a spoon that's been touched by 200 people before them. Go figure. I personally know of people who won't cruise, and will chalk it up to "I've seen Titanic before, I'm not getting on a ship!". Again, idiots. So I'd say, from this point of view, this would be why it matters. :rolleyes:

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Well then, that 0.1% that would know, by your calculations, is approximately 306,391 people. If they know it's a RCCL ship, and didn't see the disclaimer, they could possibly assume RC is in the Flesh Eating Bacteria business. Let's say only half choose another cruise line over RC because of this. Heck, let's say 3 out of every 4. That's 76,597 people. If the average cruise price is $1000, based on double occupancy of course, then the loss from this is somewhere in the ball park of......drumroll please......$76,597,000.00 :eek: And we all know there are idiots out there that will claim something like this will keep them from cruising, then turn around and go to a buffet and use a spoon that's been touched by 200 people before them. Go figure. I personally know of people who won't cruise, and will chalk it up to "I've seen Titanic before, I'm not getting on a ship!". Again, idiots. So I'd say, from this point of view, this would be why it matters. :rolleyes:

 

But, wouldn't you rather they go to Panama City instead of being on the cruise with you?

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I had the flesh eating bacteria in June 2000 to both ankles, and it has nothing to do with cruises. The bacteria steptrococ A that gives this disease live mostly on your skin, or under your nails any particular places like that so you kncik yourself or like me scrath yourself and they don't know why and suddently here we go. I was lucky that I went to the hospital as soon as I saw like bubbles on my ankles and some flesh turning back and could not get up, they were able to save my two legs. They had a surgery OR ready for me 24 hours for the first 48 hours. It is just a badluck and nothing to do with cruising. I was not cruising at that time. The best is to go quickly if you don't feel well and have a open wound.

Many cases have great outcome but those on are not in the news.

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I had the flesh eating bacteria in June 2000 to both ankles, and it has nothing to do with cruises. The bacteria steptrococ A that gives this disease live mostly on your skin, or under your nails any particular places like that so you kncik yourself or like me scrath yourself and they don't know why and suddently here we go. I was lucky that I went to the hospital as soon as I saw like bubbles on my ankles and some flesh turning back and could not get up, they were able to save my two legs. They had a surgery OR ready for me 24 hours for the first 48 hours. It is just a badluck and nothing to do with cruising. I was not cruising at that time. The best is to go quickly if you don't feel well and have a open wound.

Many cases have great outcome but those on are not in the news.

 

Congratulations on your successful recovery! :)

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  • 1 month later...

The bacteria lives on normal and healthy skin. It needs a break in the skin to enter. The media makes it sound like a very common thing but it is fairly rare and tends to infect people who are physically run down, such as diabetics, sick with a chronic illness or other problems. The cases contracted in nail salons affected people with diabetes. I used to work in an ICU and every case I saw involved someone who was physically compromised in some way.

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Folks...you can catch a flesh eating disease, swine flu, hepatitis...etc anything just by going to your local grocery store or bank. :eek: These topics are not just related to cruising. The most important thing is to WASH your hands numerous times throughout the day (and this doesn't mean just when you go to the restroom). I probably wash my hands 30-50+ times per day. I always encourage my teens to wash their hands numerous times also (my oldest son has bad asthma). Just remember, when you are out in the public, try not to touch handrails if at all possible. Obviously you will have to touch doorknobs if this is the only way to open the door. If the door is a push door, use your arm/elbow area as this keeps your hands off of it. Little things like this everyday can help. As far as only catching diseases on a cruise ship, this is a fallacy.

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You don't really "catch" bacteria. They live everywhere. "Flesh eating" bacteria are just bacteria that are already on your skin and when you have an opening in your skin, anything on your skin can get in. You're no more likely to develop an infection on a ship than you are at home. One of the reasons they say not to get a pedicure for a day or two after women shave their legs is because shaving can leave small cuts on your legs that can easily become infected with bacteria from the water.

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