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Britannia norovirus?


davecttr
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Just got back from a 7 nighter to Norway and on the Penultimate day felt unwell in the morning, by 6pm i was vomiting and the other started a couple of hours later. Wheelchaired down to the medical centre for assessment. I could hardly walk and have never felt so ill. They gave me an injection to combat the nausea but The diarreaha(sp) went on until next morning. Confined to cabin of course and ate nothing all day.

 

I was concerned about being dumped on shore in southampton in an embarressing state of health, it must have happened to someone!. However the symptoms did not recur and I was offloaded at 10.30am after everyone else. Surprisingly they did not assess me again in the morning although they said they were going to.

 

hopefully i have not scattered Norovirus particles all over 2 taxis, a bus and 2 trains on the way home. If i have, what else could i do, i was hardly thinking straight and just wanted to get home.

 

I still feel completely shattered and just want to sleep

 

ps- i don't know where i caught it, i do know i did not eat or drink ashore or use any facilities.. Maybe it was not nororvirus 'just' gastroeneteritis in which case i caught it on the ship?

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I was appalled to watch several men use the urinal and not bother to wash their hands on the way out. However, the staff in the Horizon buffet were quite good at encouraging hand washing - though a bit daft to have the sinks at the end where the staff giving out trays can't see you and so then insist you use the hand wash 30 seconds later. Twice better than not at all in my book though. By the end of the cruise even my kids were using the hand wash without being asked. Hopefully you will feel better soon, but shame you had to miss the end of your holiday.

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Actually i only used the public toilets twice on the first day!. It did not save me though!. I noticed towards the end of the cruise they stopped policing the wash troughs and people were just walking straight past.

 

I am not sure about using the buffet anymore especially as I witnessed an example of how hygiene control does not work. The salad counter had several smallish tongs etc for picking items and the man behind the counter decided to tidy up the arrangement. He was wearing gloves but of course transferred any nasty beasties between the handles :rolleyes:

 

Then you had the grab and go, pick up the burger in its wrapping, look at it and then put it back - yuk!

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Sorry you had the virus...Norovirus is usually no more than 3 days...are you feeling bad past 3 days?

 

It started on Thursday morning and the 'active' phase lasted until Friday morning. I am still getting some stomach aches but have an underlying gastric problem that I suspect has been aggrevated by the Norovirus. Last time i had an internal examination the '2 or 3 days' of discomfort lasted almost 2 weeks.:(

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I was on that cruise and agree about people avoiding handwashing. We were obsessed! Used public loos every day but always washed thoroughly and used paper towel for opening the door. Used knuckle for lift buttons and tried not to touch handrails. In the buffet, knowing handles would be contaminated, we were careful to eat only with cutlery and use the handwash before any repeat visit. If you really thought about it, buffets would be a no go. I take antibac wipes to clean cabin surfaces before we unpack and we used antiviral foam several times a day. Fortunately the human body is able to cope with most bacteria on a daily basis!

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Very sorry to hear you've been ill, davectr, but glad that you were able to get home. At least you were travelling by public transport - I'm guessing that driving home would have been a challenge. Can I ask something? Were you on the cruise alone, or with someone? If the latter, were they ill as well?

 

I don't think there's any point in trying to work out how you got it - you just did. Everyone thinks of buffets, etc, as the obvious vectors, but in practice the virus can me picked up from any surface.

 

Hope it doesn't put you off your future cruises.

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Not quite sure if this is correct but I thought that the norovirus had an incubation period of about 3 days. As there was no mass outbreak this would suggest that the bug was not brought on at the start of the cruise and that it was more likely to have got on board at a port.

 

In my experience, the use of gel is more or less compulsory when boarding the ship so I would say that it was more likely to have been an isolated ilness.

 

Pretty horrible though, hope you are now feeling much better.

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Hand gels are not effective against norovirus, the only way of prevention is thorough washing with soap and running water. The problem is some people think gel can take the place of good hand hygiene, it cannot.

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We were on Britannia in March. The automatic sinks were useless and didnt work and there was no enforcement or encouragement to use the hand gels at all. Guess what, My Mum got Norovirus half way through the cruise (first time ever) despite being hygeine obsessed. In our opinion it was the buffet. Simply placing gel stations around is pointless unless people use them. We sat one lunchtime and counted 7 people using the gel out of 65. Not a single person was challenged.

 

Anyway, to the OP here is my advice, write to P&O and complain. We managed to get £800 compensation for our Mum after just one email ( why did they concede so quickly?) The cruise line isnt responsible as long as they take all precautions but they didnt and the useless automatic sinks are a good example of this. Even those that want to wash their hands properly cannot. The buffet manager agreed that the auto sinks were an issue. I predict a major Noro outbreak within a few months on Britannia,

 

Unfortunately having had Gastrenteritus in the US a few years back I found it can take 6 months or so until you get back to normal. I lost 2 stone as a result. I found Aloe Vera Gel very good at settling my stomach but it tastes awful.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited by kevinyork
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The automatic sinks are not useless - they are incorrectly set up. All you had to do was pass the sensor and the water started, but not for 20 seconds. We didn't need encouragement to use them or the gel! On Thomsons ships, they block your path to squirt gel on your hands both on board and every time you board.

Anyone who has gastro problems has my deepest sympathy cos there's nothing worse. I think we must all do what we can to at least protect ourselves. Despite the risks, we all love cruising!

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Hand gels are not effective against norovirus, the only way of prevention is thorough washing with soap and running water. The problem is some people think gel can take the place of good hand hygiene, it cannot.

 

I hope you are feeling a lot better now Dave.

 

This subject frightens a lot of people including me as it can obviously ruin a holiday.

 

So can anyone direct me to the best information to try and ensure we take the best possible precautions. By information I mean is it really the best prevention to use just soap and water, I thought the hand gels/foams were supposed to be the best ?

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Responsible grown up adults should never need encouragement to use hand gel or wash there hands at anytime it should be normal practice for everyone to wash their hands after using the toilet or entering a food area.

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Dave, hope you are feeling better. It need not have been noro, could just have been food poisoning of some sort. The dockyard in Plymouth was closed a week ago with noro, so it's not just ships. Only takes one person to bring it in.

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I hope you are feeling a lot better now Dave.

 

This subject frightens a lot of people including me as it can obviously ruin a holiday.

 

So can anyone direct me to the best information to try and ensure we take the best possible precautions. By information I mean is it really the best prevention to use just soap and water, I thought the hand gels/foams were supposed to be the best ?

The hand gels normally used on cruise ships are antibacterial and don't kill Norovirus. Handwashing really is the best precaution, especially before you eat. water and soap is fine but you must wash all your hands properly. It is the mechanical action of washing and rinsing the viral particles away that does the trick. Also,try not to touch your face, nose, eyes, lips etc as it only takes a few of the particles to infect you. Don't panic though, i have done over 25 cruises and never caught norovirus before.

 

I admit this experience has made me think about using the buffet, except perhaps for an early breakfast, surely a packet of cornflakes won't get me :eek:

 

Last time i had any interference with my digestive system it triggered a 2 week recurrance of the IBS type symptoms I suffer from. Further reading suggests people with IBS and diabetes can have prolonged symptoms.:(

 

I will write to P&O about the obvious lack of basic precautions aboard plus cross contamination issues with food handling. Buffets are the obvious problem with passengers having to handle the same utensils. The casino needs looking at as well, all those chips are handled by lots of people.

 

ps- stomach still churning away althogh no diarreah today.

Edited by davecttr
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In my experience, the use of gel is more or less compulsory when boarding the ship so I would say that it was more likely to have been an isolated ilness.

 

 

There is always a dispenser there before boarding but it really isn't monitored. Many people don't bother.

 

David.

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The hand gels normally used on cruise ships are antibacterial and don't kill Norovirus. Handwashing really is the best precaution, especially before you eat. water and soap is fine but you must wash all your hands properly. It is the mechanical action of washing and rinsing the viral particles away that does the trick. Also,try not to touch your face, nose, eyes, lips etc as it only takes a few of the particles to infect you. Don't panic though, i have done over 25 cruises and never caught norovirus before.

 

I admit this experience has made me think about using the buffet, except perhaps for an early breakfast, surely a packet of cornflakes won't get me :eek:

 

Last time i had any interference with my digestive system it triggered a 2 week recurrance of the IBS type symptoms I suffer from. Further reading suggests people with IBS and diabetes can have prolonged symptoms.:(

 

I will write to P&O about the obvious lack of basic precautions aboard plus cross contamination issues with food handling. Buffets are the obvious problem with passengers having to handle the same utensils. The casino needs looking at as well, all those chips are handled by lots of people.

 

ps- stomach still churning away althogh no diarreah today.

 

Glad you are starting to feel better.

 

Have to say, when we have been on P&O we notice that they don't always have someone standing by the entrance to the buffet area with hand gels etc and / or reminding you to use the gel machines as an alternative. They used to on Celebrity and far more people used them.... most I'd say.

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I hope you are feeling a lot better now Dave.

 

This subject frightens a lot of people including me as it can obviously ruin a holiday.

 

So can anyone direct me to the best information to try and ensure we take the best possible precautions. By information I mean is it really the best prevention to use just soap and water, I thought the hand gels/foams were supposed to be the best ?

 

Use the gells for what good they do but proper hand washing is the best way to kill the virus. Also try to avoid putting your hands to your face, it's surprising how often people do this without knowing they are doing it. If there are no gells when entering the MD complain to the MD.

 

This is a useful quite. We have never caught the bug after multiple cruises over the years, but we do take care.

 

http://www.wash-hands.com/hand_hygiene_and_you/how_to_wash_your_hands

 

David

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Use the gells for what good they do but proper hand washing is the best way to kill the virus. Also try to avoid putting your hands to your face, it's surprising how often people do this without knowing they are doing it. If there are no gells when entering the MD complain to the MD.

 

This is a useful quite. We have never caught the bug after multiple cruises over the years, but we do take care.

 

http://www.wash-hands.com/hand_hygiene_and_you/how_to_wash_your_hands

 

David

 

That is a good link David thank you. We intend to take our own gels and foams just as an additional precaution to the ships gels.

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