Veendam Norovirus Problem?

[Marigold252]

EVERY - and I mean EVERY - single ship sailing from a US port this time of year has passengers with Norovirus onboard.

Some of them know they have it and are trying to hide it; some of them caught it on the airplane or in the hotel on their way to the ship and do not yet have any symptoms.

 

My colleagues at CDC estimate that EVERY cruise ship that sails from a US port at any time of the year has an average of 60 passengers with Norovirus onboard.

 

It is only because the ships are so carefully cleaned that we all do not come down with it.

 

I have a friend who visited family last week. The toddler got sick and soon 5 out of 9 were sick with vomiting and diahrrea. Was this norovirus? No one went to the doctor so we'll never know.

 

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[BruceMuzz]

How's the record for European ports ... specifically Copenhagen? And what is the lowest period of occurrence, mid-summer?

 

Viruses usually have a "season".

Flu virus and Noro virus have almost identical infection patterns.

 

You don't see too many flu virus outbreaks in mid-summer - but it does still happen.

Same goes for Noro virus.

[BruceMuzz]

I have a friend who visited family last week. The toddler got sick and soon 5 out of 9 were sick with vomiting and diahrrea. Was this norovirus? No one went to the doctor so we'll never know.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Forums mobile app

 

Most people who suffer with Norovirus are not on a cruise ship - and most of the sick people do not report their illness to a doctor. They just take a few days off and recover.

 

The CDC has recorded over 20 million Americans who reported having Norovirus last year.

How many more millions of Americans had it and did not report it?

 

People usually think they have "the flu", "the 3-day flu", "the stomach flu", or as the Brits call it, "Winter vomiting illness".

Quite often it is Norovirus.

 

There are no available tests that can give you a reliable quick answer if it is Norovirus or not.

Even if you did know that it was Norovirus, there is really nothing special you can do about it - except try not to give it to someone else.

[Salacia]

EVERY - and I mean EVERY - single ship sailing from a US port this time of year has passengers with Norovirus onboard.

Some of them know they have it and are trying to hide it; some of them caught it on the airplane or in the hotel on their way to the ship and do not yet have any symptoms.

 

My colleagues at CDC estimate that EVERY cruise ship that sails from a US port at any time of the year has an average of 60 passengers with Norovirus onboard.

 

It is only because the ships are so carefully cleaned that we all do not come down with it.

 

 

Hi BruceMuzz. Just curious, do your colleagues at the CDC estimate an average number of crew members with Noro, or does the CDC just give you an estimate of passengers who bring the virus onboard? Does the CDC give an estimate of instances where food or water is the source of a Noro outbreak? Or is the source of infection never clearly established in Noro outbreaks.:confused:

 

Passenger are not the only source of contagion, as has been well established. As to ships being "so carefully cleaned", given the amount of turn around time (no fault of the crew), I certainly hope you are right. Regards, -Salacia

 

P.S. Just to mention, the CDC has not yet published the causative agent of the outbreak of gastrointestinal illness on the Veendam 2/8 -2/22 cruise.

Edited March 4, 2014 by Salacia

[cbr663]

An interesting article on noro and whether cruise ships are adequately cleaned.

 

http://www.eturbonews.com/43374/travel-law-stop-blaming-passengers-eradicate-norovirus-now