Smallpox and cruising

[korpo024]

What is the MSC policy on chrildren with smallpox? I can't find it anywhere?!

 

[saxkid]

Do you mean chicken pox?

[korpo024]

yes

[saxkid]

Well, I found this in the "Health and Fitness to Travel" section of the Booking Terms and Conditions:  

 

The Passenger warrants that he is fit to travel by sea and that his conduct or condition will not impair the safety of the Cruise Ship or inconvenience the other Passengers. Any passenger with a condition that may affect his fitness to travel is strongly encouraged to check with their personal physician regarding their ability to travel and to obtain a written physician's certificate of Passenger's fitness for an international sea voyage. If it appears to the Company, the Master or the Cruise Ship's Doctor in their sole discretion that a Passenger is for any reason unfit to travel, likely to endanger health or safety, or likely to be refused permission to land at any port, or likely to render the Company liable for Passenger maintenance, support or repatriation, then the Company or the Master shall have the right to take any of the following courses and the Company shall have no further liability to Passenger: (i) Refuse to embark the Passenger at any port; (ii) Disembark the Passenger at any port; (iii) Transfer the Passenger to another berth or cabin; (iv) If the Cruise Ship doctor considers it advisable, to place and confine the Passenger in the Cruise Ship's Infirmary, to Passenger's cabin or any other cabin, or to transfer the Passenger to a health facility at any port, all at the Passenger's expense. Passenger acknowledges that travel by sea involves certain risks and hazards including motion of the vessel by sea conditions, and the delay and/or impossibility of immediate evacuation from the vessel in the event of a medical emergency depending on the vessel's location and prevailing sea and weather conditions. The Company shall have no liability and shall owe no full or partial refund in the event the Passenger is refused passage, disembarked, confined to the infirmary or their cabin, or transferred to another berth or cabin pursuant to this section. 

 

That being said, if they are getting over the chicken pox and just have the scabs then I would think you wouldn't have any problem as long as you have a doctor's note.  I would bring some sort of doctor's note anyway just in case.

[Sancho_proudfoot]

Phew,  l panicked when I read "smallpox"  -  i thought it had been eradicated!

[jean87510]

And you are going to disclose this before you board, correct?  I'd really make sure you have a doctor's note that clears them before you get to the terminal. Especially if the scabs are on the face. The port may think it's something else other than chicken pox.

Edited April 10, 2019 by jean87510

[glittergal1]

Chicken pox is highly contagious before any spots and until they are all scabbed over, shingles can also be caught from infected Adults or Children . Im presuming you are asking because you have an infected adult/child and are cruising soon?  Airlines routinely refuse passengers with visible signs too.  

[abbflex]

I ve had that as an adult cause I never had it as a child. Please dont risk that anyone can be affected. It was hellish.😫

[Mattnvick]

1 hour ago, abbflex said:

I ve had that as an adult cause I never had it as a child. Please dont risk that anyone can be affected. It was hellish.😫

 

Agreed. I caught it from my 11 month old and it was indeed hell. 

[korpo024]

My child has had it several years a go..but now there's an outbreak at her school...so we are a little bit worried she might catch it...but normally you don't get it twice....and Yes we won't go on a cruise then....if it is still contagious....

[glittergal1]

1 minute ago, korpo024 said:

My child has had it several years a go..but now there's an outbreak at her school...so we are a little bit worried she might catch it...but normally you don't get it twice....and Yes we won't go on a cruise then....if it is still contagious....

 

Unfortunately they are contagious before the spots come out as  well as when they do have spots ,  and some children hardly have spots and are not unwell so sometimes you dont even know they have it. others will get lots of spots . Chicken pox is not really something you can prevent just cross your fingers they dont get it again 

[jean87510]

Just out of curiosity isnt anyone vaccinated at her school? I work as a school nurse in USA and we are stickers about the vaccines. Regardless of that, it wouldn't be fair to her or to others if she has it. I'd get her tested for it and talk to her doctor about going on a cruise ship with chicken pox. You also have to consider there could be people on the ship who are immune compromised (recent chemo, leukemia) who it would be dangerous for them to be exposed to someone with a contagious disease. Good luck. It isnt an easy decision.

[korpo024]

1 hour ago, jean87510 said:

Just out of curiosity isnt anyone vaccinated at her school? I work as a school nurse in USA and we are stickers about the vaccines. Regardless of that, it wouldn't be fair to her or to others if she has it. I'd get her tested for it and talk to her doctor about going on a cruise ship with chicken pox. You also have to consider there could be people on the ship who are immune compromised (recent chemo, leukemia) who it would be dangerous for them to be exposed to someone with a contagious disease. Good luck. It isnt an easy decision.

In the Netherlands you don't get vaccinated for Chicken pox. Because it's harmless to normal people. She, and her school are vaccinated for all other serious deseases 

[glittergal1]

10 hours ago, jean87510 said:

Just out of curiosity isnt anyone vaccinated at her school? I work as a school nurse in USA and we are stickers about the vaccines. Regardless of that, it wouldn't be fair to her or to others if she has it. I'd get her tested for it and talk to her doctor about going on a cruise ship with chicken pox. You also have to consider there could be people on the ship who are immune compromised (recent chemo, leukemia) who it would be dangerous for them to be exposed to someone with a contagious disease. Good luck. It isnt an easy decision.

 

I wasnt even aware there is a Vaccine for Chicken Pox No vaccine here in the UK , Vaccines for other diseases yes but not Chicken Pox . 

[ssmea03]

On 4/10/2019 at 11:16 PM, glittergal1 said:

 

I wasnt even aware there is a Vaccine for Chicken Pox No vaccine here in the UK , Vaccines for other diseases yes but not Chicken Pox . 

Chicken pox and shingles vaccines are available in Canada. In the UK getting infected as a child is encouraged, you definitely don't want to get it as an adult. It is also possible to still get smallpox vacine by special request.

[styles27]

There wasn’t always a vaccine for it in the US my children both had the virus before any vaccine was available...I caught it from them at the age of 35...it was not good!  I was much sicker than the kids were. 😞

[QueenofEverything]

The vaccine for chicken pox is called Varicella

[ssmea03]

9 hours ago, QueenofEverything said:

The vaccine for chicken pox is called Varicella

Thats funny, thats what chicken pox is called in France. Our eldest had it as a toddler while on holiday in France. His first spots appeared on our first day there.

[ssmea03]

10 hours ago, styles27 said:

There wasn’t always a vaccine for it in the US my children both had the virus before any vaccine was available...I caught it from them at the age of 35...it was not good!  I was much sicker than the kids were. 😞

I think it's only been available these last couple of years. My wife also caught it off of our Son, (I'd had it as a child) and got really sick with it. Then we read a news report of an adult man dying from it. 

[SirWolf]

In the USA the chicken pox vaccine was licensed to the public in 1995 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There were over 120,000 cases in 1995 and 115 deaths this year. The death rate has declined since then. The estimated vaccination rate for children under 3 years old was 91% in 2014.

[styles27]

4 hours ago, ssmea03 said:

I think it's only been available these last couple of years. My wife also caught it off of our Son, (I'd had it as a child) and got really sick with it. Then we read a news report of an adult man dying from it. 

 

Ugh it can be really serious for adults.  I didn’t have many spots but I had a very high fever and violently ill.  Waiting til I’m old enough to get the shingles vaccine...definitely don’t want that either.