Noro Virus and Food handlers........

[txflood33]

Thanks, BruceMuzz. I hope you don't mind if I quote what you wrote in one of your posts from another thread on Noro. I thought was especially significant:

 

"It's all about standards.

 

If you work at McDonalds and come to work sick, you get paid.

If you work on a ship and come to work sick, you get fired and sent home at your expense.

 

A few years ago the Amerian Hotel and Motel Association sent their food sanitation training materials to my ship.

We threw them away. The standards in the manuals were so poor that my ship would fail a USPH inspection if we followed them."

 

It's somewhat comical the way the US runs in circles.....again, this is coming from someone in the food industry for 27 years

 

The McD employee comes in sick...the boss has 2 choices, send him home or work him....we all know the correct choice....if he works him he runs the risk of spreading illness to both his other crew members and his guests....if he sends him home, he is short staffed and service suffers....the typical US fast food customer demands instant gratification because that is what fast food has become known for.....so he sends him home and service suffers and we(the American public) fill out surveys and call and complain because somehow they were slighted with slower than usual service....the manager gets reprimanded for the complaint and may even lose some bonus dollars based on structure and number/% of complaints

 

Some where, we as a society must give a little. I understand the safety aspect and live by it. I've run my shifts short staffed before due to illness. But we, as a society can't expect the levels that we do 100% of the time....it's literally impossible....and yes, I used literally correct there.

[Banditdoggy]

A couple of years ago, I sailed on the Summit to New England, NORO broke out. A Princess and Norwegian sailed the same day and all three had a break out. Months later, I finally found a CDC report blaming a food supplier. I now avoid any uncooked food for the first 2 days.

[Elaine5715]

You may be unaware that you are contagious before you become sick but loads of people especially those on vacation knowingly infect others by resuming the fun and shred the virus as soon as they feel better.

[BruceMuzz]

Cruise ships are in a rather unique class of food service.

A very small number of employees prepares food for a very large number of people.

That large number of passengers all eat pretty much the same foods.

 

If an ill food worker on a ship contaminates the food, a very large number of passengers will become ill all at the same time. They all ate the same contaminated food.

But that almost never happens on a ship.

 

Typically the histogram of an NLV outbreak on a cruise ship starts with just a few pax the first day, then a higher number the next day, a higher number the next day, and so on. This suggests that one or more people brought the illness on, contaminated areas of the ship, spreading it to several more, who then further contaminated areas of the ship, spreading to even more people.

 

A few more things to consider:

 

There seems to be a misconception that everyone who contracts NLV experiences projectile vomiting and explosive diarrhea. Not true. There is a percentage of the population who contract NLV and have mild to non-existent symptoms. In many cases they do not even know they have it. These people unfortunately are key to unknowingly spreading the virus to others who are not so lucky.

 

NLV is an Anglo-Saxon illness, concentrated in Germany, UK, Canada, USA, and Australia. Nobody is quite sure why that is the case, but recent blood test studies suggest that blood types have a lot to do with who gets sick - and who does not.

 

Noroviruses appear to have mutated to be most compatible with Type O blood. Type O is dominant with Anglo Saxon heritage. That's not to say that all Anglo Saxons have Type O Blood - but a high percentage do. That may explain why so many people in the countries listed suffer from NLV every year.

 

Norovirus is rarely seen in Asia, where the dominant blood types are A, B, and AB. This also suggests that Asians with A, B, or AB blood might contract Norovirus without knowing it, becoming carriers who unwittingly infect others.

 

Where are you most likely to contract NLV on a cruise ship?

Easy Answer:

#1 Lido Buffet

#2 Public toilets

 

If you avoid these areas for the first 2 or 3 days of a cruise, when those passengers raised by wolves are trying to give their illness to you, there is a very good chance of avoiding it completely.

If you can avoid the buffet and public toilets for the entire voyage, your chances are even better.

 

How does NLV enter your body?

It cannot penetrate your skin, unless there is a wound, or it is injected. Not very likely.

It cannot get into your lungs unless you breathe aspirated spores from an infected person who is vomiting right next to you. - Unlikely.

 

It can be in food that was infected before you arrived. A sick food worker could contaminate it, resulting in dozens or hundreds ill at the same time. This rarely happens on cruise ships.

It can be in food that was infected before you arrived. A less than clean fellow passenger can contaminate it with dirty hands.

 

The only other way to contract NLV is to give it to yourself. It can only enter your body via Mouth, Nose, Eyes, or Ears.

You are pretty much the only person allowed to put dirty hands into those areas.

Edited May 14, 2015 by BruceMuzz