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Carnival cruise - Ebola

beshears

By beshears,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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bigdog1958

bigdog1958

Posted
Posted
There must be multiple media versions of the story (surprise, surprise). My understanding was that this individual physically handled the blood of the infected man. IMO (again, the hamburger) anyone at that hospital that had direct contact should have been grounded for 21 days, period. No flights, no travel, limited contact. Until we are certain what we are dealing with and if procedures are properly protecting these medical personnel there should be a protocol using an abundance of caution. Better to err on the side of safety.

 

You are correct that the CDC should have banned travel for people who had contact, but they did not. Your previous post said that the Lab tech should have ignored the CDC guidelines and self imposed a ban on herself. Why, if the CDC says its okay to travel, should a lab tech say, I am smarter then the cdc so I will ignore them and not travel. You are blaming the wrong person here. Most people would have followed CDC rules, not made up their own, and that is what the lab tech did. This is not her fault, its the CDC.

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DirtyDawg

DirtyDawg

Posted
Posted
I definitely would not cancel a cruise.

 

Things are not that good for my friend - at the end of the week, she leaves for an African Safari that they booked 2 years ago. Its in South Africa and cost them $ 30,000. They would have cancelled if they could, but unfortunately, this situation is not covered in their travel insurance.

 

Ghana is 3,000 miles away from Johannesburg, South Africa!! BTW Dallas, where the U.S. cases originated, is only 1,200 miles away from Niagara Falls. If your friend still wants to cancel I have a spare $20 to buy it from them.

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DirtyDawg

DirtyDawg

Posted
Posted
You are correct that the CDC should have banned travel for people who had contact, but they did not. Your previous post said that the Lab tech should have ignored the CDC guidelines and self imposed a ban on herself. Why, if the CDC says its okay to travel, should a lab tech say, I am smarter then the cdc so I will ignore them and not travel. You are blaming the wrong person here. Most people would have followed CDC rules, not made up their own, and that is what the lab tech did. This is not her fault, its the CDC.

 

Unfortunately many people pefer to get their expert advice from TMZ not the CDC.:rolleyes:

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travler27

travler27

Posted
Posted (edited)
What is it that I am "misunderstanding"? Please enlighten me.

 

The person on the Magic did not simply decide to go on a cruise and put 3,000+ people at risk as you have suggested. The person consulted with the CDC and was told that there was no problem and she should go on her cruise as scheduled. It was not irresponsible on her part. She did exactly what she was told to do by the federal agency charged with "Disease Control" (the CDC).

 

In the middle of the cruise the CDC (federal agency charged with disease control) changed their mind and tried to get her off the cruise.

Edited by travler27
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Kel040

Kel040

Posted
Posted
Ghana is 3,000 miles away from Johannesburg, South Africa!! BTW Dallas, where the U.S. cases originated, is only 1,200 miles away from Niagara Falls. If your friend still wants to cancel I have a spare $20 to buy it from them.

 

haha.. I should point that out to her.. :D

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DMH15

DMH15

Posted
Posted
Yes, I cancelled my cruise for this weekend and will be going after Carnival for a full refund of my cruise fare, airfare and all associated expenses. It's absolutely ridiculous they wouldn't screen each passenger prior to boarding each cruise!

 

 

You had cruise insurance, right?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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BaseballMomof4

BaseballMomof4

Posted
Posted (edited)
The person on the Magic did not simply decide to go on a cruise and put 3,000+ people at risk as you have suggested. The person consulted with the CDC and was told that there was no problem and she should go on her cruise as scheduled. It was not irresponsible on her part. She did exactly what she was told to do by the federal agency charged with "Disease Control" (the CDC).

 

In the middle of the cruise the CDC (federal agency charged with disease control) changed their mind and tried to get her off the cruise.

 

Ok. Again, differing news reports. And yes, in light of that information, the CDC is the irresponsible party.

 

I am not advocating mass panic here, but on the flip side - this is a deadly virus that, on a ship, could truly become a disastrous situation.

 

The hospital, the CDC, whoever was in authority, should have, in an abundance of caution, restricted anyone who had direct contact with the patient for at least the incubation period. Obviously mistakes were made since we have never had a case of Ebola in the US before or we would not have had two infected nurses. Until all medical personnel have been fully trained in the US anyone coming into direct contact with an infected patient or his/her bodily fluids should be advised to limit their exposure to others.

Edited by BaseballMomof4
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Seago2

Seago2

Posted
Posted

If handling the blood, or supervising handling the blood, of an infected person is likely to spread the virus, why did they take her blood on the ship? I assume they did it in sick bay. Were they wearing spacesuits, etc? Here we are blaming her for cruising and her possibly infected blood was drawn right on the ship, nowhere near a truly contained environment.

 

 

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tnfcruise

tnfcruise

Posted
Posted
Ok. Again, differing news reports. And yes, in light of that information, the CDC is the irresponsible party.

 

I am not advocating mass panic here, but on the flip side - this is a deadly virus that, on a ship, could truly become a disastrous situation.

 

The hospital, the CDC, whoever was in authority, should have, in an abundance of caution, restricted anyone who had direct contact with the patient for at least the incubation period. Obviously mistakes were made since we have never had a case of Ebola in the US before or we would not have had two infected nurses. Until all medical personnel have been fully trained in the US anyone coming into direct contact with an infected patient or his/her bodily fluids should be advised to limit their exposure to others.

 

 

Your measured, sound, intelligent way of stating your opinion (and facts) has brought this CC thread much credibility. Thanks.

 

 

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skittl1321 Great Review Rare

skittl1321

Posted
Posted
While this "crisis" may have created something of a hyper-sensitivity I do have to say that the passenger who did not wait the 21 days after handling the blood of an individual who was infected with the virus was, in my opinion, extremely irresponsible.

 

 

You do realize there are researchers who handle samples like this of ebola and other hemorrhagic viruses ALL the time; who go about their normal lives and interact with the public after work daily?

 

This lab employee works with extremely contagious diseases on a daily basis. Working with blood of a patient with an active ebola infection is really no different.

 

The nurses who worked with the patient did not have proper precautions to keep themselves safe. But those in the lab already take universal precautions that prevent ebola infections.

 

There was NEVER any risk.

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BaseballMomof4

BaseballMomof4

Posted
Posted
You do realize there are researchers who handle samples like this of ebola and other hemorrhagic viruses ALL the time; who go about their normal lives and interact with the public after work daily?

 

This lab employee works with extremely contagious diseases on a daily basis. Working with blood of a patient with an active ebola infection is really no different.

 

The nurses who worked with the patient did not have proper precautions to keep themselves safe. But those in the lab already take universal precautions that prevent ebola infections.

 

There was NEVER any risk.

 

 

I have learned in life to never say never. And there hasn't been any precedent in the US for handling this infection which is evidenced by the ever changing attitude of the CDC.

 

The average hospital lab employee is not (and this is NOT a criticism, they are wonderful) trained and equipped on the same level as CDC employees - the don't have to be under normal circumstances. There are only 4 hospitals in the country that are genuinely equipped to handle a situation like this and unfortunately Texas Pres isn't one of them.

 

Was there a high probably of infection? Maybe not. Was there a possibility of infection? Most certainly. Should the CDC have advised the employee to place herself in a confined environment with 3-4 thousand others and to visit 3-4 other countries, no. Had she been unknowingly infected she could have exponentially increased the spread of the disease and the US is not equipped to handle an outbreak. One or two isolated cases, maybe.

 

When it comes to life or possible death I am sorry, but I simply do not want to play the probabilities.

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BaseballMomof4

BaseballMomof4

Posted
Posted
I suppose if folks on CC had their way no medical workers or research lab workers would ever be able to go on a cruise because of their interaction with contagious diseases on a daily basis.

 

Well, 3 of my companions on my last cruise were nurses. We aren't talking about a cold. We are talking about a virus with no real cure that has exploded in Africa and is killing thousands. While Ebola has been around for decades, there wasn't the kind of ease of travel back in the 70's that there is now. It will not remain contained in Africa this time (as we have seen) and frankly the US is not prepared to contain it on our own shores. I don't understand why exercising caution with respect to this virus is tantamount to demonizing all health care workers.

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beshears

beshears

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thank you everyone for your responses. I had a feeling that "most" of you would feel the same as I, but I thought I would ask. :) I had friends in Arizona and Indiania who thought I should cancel, but I really didn't think I should. So I'm NOT going to. :) Were going to go and think POSITIVE, and have a great time!

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DirtyDawg

DirtyDawg

Posted
Posted (edited)
Even TMZ has perspective... they've reported "More Americans have been married to Kim Kardashian than have died from Ebola."

 

:rolleyes:

 

Brilliant!:D

 

There is sooooo much I could do with the KK linkage but I'd be tossed off this site in a nanosecond!;)

Edited by DirtyDawg
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