Norovirus Ports Are Becoming Smarter

[Todd]

The cruise industry has been playing a cat and mouse game with dealing with Norovirus. They have placed limited controls within food handling and upon passengers on the ships. No line wants to report a outbreak and the current CDC rules say 3% of the total number of passengers and crew is a outbreak and must be reported. So the ships work to control Norovirus and keep the number under this 3% level.

 

This can be done in many ways, under reporting, cleaning after cases reported, get passengers off the ships, are just a few. But ports do not want hundreds of infected people coming ashore, so it seems some ports are putting much higher standard in place. While this latest case is not a Royal Ship I believe the port would handle the same way.

 

St. Maarten refused entry to the Norwegian Cruise Lines vessel Norwegian Gem on March 18 due to a gastrointestinal virus outbreak on board, citing the "interests of public health.†The port call was canceled and the passengers were kept on the ship. The port said.“Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships are common, and according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC), outbreaks are found and reported more quickly on a cruise ship than on land,†The ship did make its March 19 port call at Tortola, British Virgin Island. The government authorities at Tortola later told the local press that they were not aware of the norovirus outbreak.

 

At that time the level of the outbreak was reported by Norwegian was at two percent, no official report to the American authorities and the CDC would be required. By the end of the cruise the number was up to 135 of of 4000 total so the outbreak level was hit and reported.

 

The question here is did the cruise line knowing that they have a problem try to continue with port calls, which allows them to get passengers off the ship and slow the spread? If St Maarten had allowed a port call and the number of people effected was reduce by 16 to 119 no report would be filed.  

 

Do you believe the Cruise Lines Royal included are really doing everything they should to control this or are they looking at the bottom line and just doing what is required? With cruise ships becoming larger and more people using self service food areas is this just another fact of life? While I would not wish Norovirus on anyone, in most cases it will only make people ill, norovirus is really only deadly in a very few limited cases among certain vulnerable populations: infants and the frail elderly.

[L454S]

After the legal and marketing departments sit down and hash it out, they will(or maybe not) address the issue.

 

Could be I don't take the issue seriously enough, have never had it, never knew anyone with it, never had any cruises affected by it(15). Guess if ports were missed, than I would start to care more. I can see your point though about RCI or any cruise line playing with numbers to make things come out the way they desire.

 

Glad you posted this, had never thought about it from the angle of the port not letting the pax off due to noro.

[Flacruiser99]

Maybe it's not usually deadly but if you get it you may wish you were dead!