Norovirus Gastroenteritis
Affected Passengers

Despite the sanitization onboard a cruise ship, norovirus gastroenteritis affected passengers on more than one voyage. Noroviruses are the most common cause of infectious acute gastroenteritis and are transmitted feco-orally through food and water; directly from person to person and by environmental contamination. These viruses are often responsible for protracted outbreaks in closed settings, such as cruise ships. In short, it was discovered that the virus “originated from a common food or water source and then continued to spread from person to person,” causing a chain reaction with all who were in contact. Simply touching surfaces or objects contaminated with norovirus, and then placing your hand in your mouth is destructive. A person already sick may vomit somewhere, not wash his hands after using the bathroom, or cough all over creation and start a chain reaction. When you come behind that person in line after he has passed you the serving spoon to scoop up some of that delicious seafood newburg, while up on the Lido deck, you sit down to eat, and it is finger licking good! Now you go out on the upper deck, holding hands with your honey while watching the deep blue sea float by for a moment of romance...are you seeing the chain reaction here?

It could happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone. Cruise ships are about as sanitized as any nursing home that I’ve seen. I mean that they are nice and clean, sometimes more so than a nursing home. It is the people that don’t always do as they should. Some choose to disobey the instructions of their mother when she used to say, “always wash your hands after using the bathroom.” She also said to always wash your hands before eating. And then there are the folks who weren’t taught those two important cleanliness rules at all. So the next time that you are in a close setting with a lot of people that are from all over creation, take some extra precautions when it comes to protecting your health. Carry and use “hand sanitizer” more often. It kills 99.99% of germs. Remember that your hands should already be washed. Hand sanitizers will kill any germs not wash off dirt. Try not to use hand rails if possible. Thousands of hands run up and down those hand rails. Some of those hands belong to the folk that don’t follow the cleanliness rules. Also when on a cruise, or in a close setting for a period of time, try not to put your hands in your face. Don’t rub your eyes, or put your hands on your mouth. Don’t lick the melting ice cream off of your hands no matter how yummy that ice cream cone is. And lastly, if you are vacationing on a cruise ship, try not to use the public bath rooms located throughout the ship. Go back to your cabin and use the one that has been cleaned more often. Those are just a few things that I can think of right now. Just be mindful of germs while in close settings from now on. And for more information about norovirus gastroenteritis CLICK HERE, and contrary to misrepresentations of the media, it’s not the ship, it is the people on the ship. Happy sailing!

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention