Iona health advisory issued for this weekend's cruise!

[Esprit]

A mate of mine has been informed of a chicken pox outbreak amongst a few crew members.

[TigerB]

3 minutes ago, Esprit said:

A mate of mine has been informed of a chicken pox outbreak amongst a few crew members.

 

There was an outbreak on our Arvia cruise in April. The affected crew members were isolated and passengers were not affected. There were outbreaks on a couple of other ships around the same time or just after; all were dealt with robustly, I understand.

[FangedRose]

That's been mentioned a few times in the last few months on many ships and different cruise lines. 

 

The problem is that many crew come from places where chicken pox isn't as endemic as it is here. Consequently they don't catch it as children when it is a relatively mild disease, and in the rather cramped crew quarters it spreads easily.

 

The vast majority of people (over 90%) have had it, so (apart from the chance of shingles) there is no great cause of concern. Most of us will have come into contact with it as an adult already via younger members of the family.

 

They have put the warning out to warn those passengers who may be particularly susceptible for whatever reason.

[Danamis]

34 minutes ago, FangedRose said:

That's been mentioned a few times in the last few months on many ships and different cruise lines. 

 

The problem is that many crew come from places where chicken pox isn't as endemic as it is here. Consequently they don't catch it as children when it is a relatively mild disease, and in the rather cramped crew quarters it spreads easily.

 

The vast majority of people (over 90%) have had it, so (apart from the chance of shingles) there is no great cause of concern. Most of us will have come into contact with it as an adult already via younger members of the family.

 

They have put the warning out to warn those passengers who may be particularly susceptible for whatever reason.

You cannot catch shingles from chickenpox. You can get chicken pox from shingles though, hence the confusion. When one has had chickenpox the virus stays dormant in the body and can reactivate as shingles later on.

[FangedRose]

29 minutes ago, Danamis said:

You cannot catch shingles from chickenpox. You can get chicken pox from shingles though, hence the confusion. When one has had chickenpox the virus stays dormant in the body and can reactivate as shingles later on.

So, as I understand it, you are correct that shingles can't be caught from chicken pox, but contact with chicken pox can reactivate ths dormant virus and cause an 'allergic" (for want of a better word) reaction in a person previously infected, which shows itself as shingles. 

 

That is how it was explained to a relative of mine some years ago.

[Danamis]

10 minutes ago, FangedRose said:

So, as I understand it, you are correct that shingles can't be caught from chicken pox, but contact with chicken pox can reactivate ths dormant virus and cause an 'allergic" (for want of a better word) reaction in a person previously infected, which shows itself as shingles. 

 

That is how it was explained to a relative of mine some years ago.

Hi Rose. The NHS website says not, but thinking could well have changed over the years.

[davecttr]

This what the NHS site says, The NHS site is the go to site for the correct information.

 

You cannot get shingles from someone with chickenpox
You cannot get shingles from someone with shingles or chickenpox.

 

But you can get chickenpox from someone with shingles if you have not had chickenpox before.

When people get chickenpox, the virus remains in the body. It can be reactivated later and cause shingles if someone's immune system is lowered.

This can be because of stress, certain conditions, or treatments like chemotherapy.

[GSPG]

Just my account but I had a small outbreak of shingles a month after my Dad died, and I put that down to stress.

I had chickenpox as a child aged 10, and I was 50 when I had shingles.

[davecttr]

8 hours ago, GSPG said:

Just my account but I had a small outbreak of shingles a month after my Dad died, and I put that down to stress.

I had chickenpox as a child aged 10, and I was 50 when I had shingles.

My mother had a bad case of shingles a few months after my father died, she was 69

[Angel57]

9 minutes ago, davecttr said:

My mother had a bad case of shingles a few months after my father died, she was 69

I had a mild second dose of shingles a few weeks after my Mum died (I was 47) so it does appear it is often a reaction to stress.

[jeanlyon]

4 hours ago, Angel57 said:

I had a mild second dose of shingles a few weeks after my Mum died (I was 47) so it does appear it is often a reaction to stress.

Yes because the stress lowers your immune system and then the virus can activate.

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, jeanlyon said:

Yes because the stress lowers your immune system and then the virus can activate.

Just made the same point to a neat freak on the Princess board, that stressing about wiping down all the surfaces in the cabin when they start a cruise, is probably worse than letting your immune system come into contact with a few germs.😇

[Angel57]

19 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Just made the same point to a neat freak on the Princess board, that stressing about wiping down all the surfaces in the cabin when they start a cruise, is probably worse than letting your immune system come into contact with a few germs.😇

I have to say I wipe down the cabin surfaces, door handles and telephone with Dettol wipes when I first board. Always have done. No idea if it makes any difference tho, but can’t hurt.

[terrierjohn]

14 minutes ago, Angel57 said:

I have to say I wipe down the cabin surfaces, door handles and telephone with Dettol wipes when I first board. Always have done. No idea if it makes any difference tho, but can’t hurt.

Just as long as you dont get too stressed about it, especially when you forget to pack the dettol wipes.

[jeanlyon]

17 hours ago, Angel57 said:

I have to say I wipe down the cabin surfaces, door handles and telephone with Dettol wipes when I first board. Always have done. No idea if it makes any difference tho, but can’t hurt.

That won't help with norovirus, as it is a virus.  You would need antiviral wipes, not antibac.  So Waste of time really.

[Cathygh]

I have just come off Iona. I can confirm that extra cleaning is being undertaken and all restaurant staff are wearing masks. I just hope the infected staff members are ok, I had chicken pox as an adult and it's not nice.

[Angel57]

40 minutes ago, jeanlyon said:

That won't help with norovirus, as it is a virus.  You would need antiviral wipes, not antibac.  So Waste of time really.

I don’t use them to prevent norovirus - as soap and water is the best defence along with not putting hands near mouth.

[FangedRose]

19 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Just made the same point to a neat freak on the Princess board, that stressing about wiping down all the surfaces in the cabin when they start a cruise, is probably worse than letting your immune system come into contact with a few germs.😇

Yes. But. It's the same as drinking water abroad. If you are living there your body will get used to it, but do you really want to be ill for the two weeks of your holiday? It's a big price to pay for becoming immune to a bug you may never come across again!

[terrierjohn]

14 minutes ago, FangedRose said:

Yes. But. It's the same as drinking water abroad. If you are living there your body will get used to it, but do you really want to be ill for the two weeks of your holiday? It's a big price to pay for becoming immune to a bug you may never come across again!

I doubt that bugs on cabin surfaces of a cruise out of Southampton, are likely to be of an alien variety, and if you are worried about water born foreign water bugs, then I hope you avoid ice in any drinks you buy while ashore.

[FangedRose]

8 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I doubt that bugs on cabin surfaces of a cruise out of Southampton, are likely to be of an alien variety, and if you are worried about water born foreign water bugs, then I hope you avoid ice in any drinks you buy while ashore.

I only buy bottled or canned drinks (no ice) while ashore for that very reason. Once bitten twice shy!

Edited June 3, 2023 by FangedRose