Air Borne Illness On Cruise Ships

Before arriving to a US.

Air borne illness on cruise ships. Outbreaks of highly infectious conditions such as gastro and respiratory illness can occur in cruise ships where a population the size of a medium-size town mixes closely together he said. The study found the risk associated with transmission of airborne particles between spaces through the HVAC system is exceptionally low and undetectable both in the air and on surfaces. From 2008 to 2014 74 million passengers sailed on cruise ships in the Vessel Sanitation Programs jurisdiction.

Cruise ships carry a large number of people in confined spaces providing an environment for transmission of infections. People often associate cruise ships with acute gastrointestinal illnesses such as norovirus but acute gastrointestinal illness is relatively infrequent on cruise ships. Clean HVAC Systems Prevent Virus Outbreaks on Cruise Ships.

This is true on cruise ships and different outbreaks of norovirus influenza coronaviruses salmonella rhinoviruses and other quick-spreading diseases do. In the first week of February 2012 approximately 500 cases of norovirus reportedly occurred on two Princess Cruise ships according to CNN. The majority of cruise ship infections involve respiratory and gastrointestinal infections.

Princess Cruise Lines issued a statement about the outbreak saying. Both ships are based in Florida. This is also why norovirus can quickly spread throughout a ship if one person falls ill.

Leaving aside the spread of viruses through the air shafts cruise ships are notorious for spreading illnesses. Cruise ships are required by the CDCs Vessel Sanitation Program VSP to report all onboard cases of gastrointestinal illness 24 hours prior to arrival in any US. Although it is not a common cause of respiratory illness on cruise ships Legionnaires disease is a treatable infection that can result in severe pneumonia leading to death.

On cruises lasting 315 days and having at least 100 passengers diarrhoeal disease outbreaks investigated by the Centers for Disease Control decreased from 81 to 30 per 10. The CDC has issued warnings related to cruise ships and norovirus and both the Diamond Princess and Westerdam cases appear mishandled to outside observers. Cruise ship staff send this report between 24 and 36 hours before the ship arrives at a US.