Over 700 Sick On Carnival Cruise Ship - flu-like symptoms, possible norovirus

[MHSC]

More Than 700 People Sick On Carnival Cruise Ship

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=37159

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- Carnival Cruise Lines says more than 700 people on its Liberty cruise ship have fallen ill with flu-like symptoms. The sickness is believed to be norovirus.

The Liberty is one of the world's largest cruise ships. It left Rome with about 2,800 people on board on Nov. 3.

An official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta says passengers and crew members got sick within 24 hours of sailing.

He says three environmental health specialists will board the ship in St. Maarten today to determine the cause of the outbreak and supervise cleaning.

The Liberty is scheduled to arrive in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Sunday.

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Over 700 Sick On Carnival Cruise Ship - flu-like symptoms, possible norovirus

This is a pretty regular occurance. Most outbreaks aren't publicized. Affiliated businesses track "sick" ships.

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[MHSC]

Re: Over 700 Sick On Carnival Cruise Ship - flu-like symptoms, possible norovirus

Update

Cruise ship with sick passengers arrives in Fort Lauderdale
November 19, 2006 09:16 EST
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- A cruise ship with more than 700 sick passengers and crew members aboard has pulled into Port Everglades.

Carnival Cruise Line's Liberty is returning from a trans-Atlantic voyage.

More than 550 guests and 150 crew members are said to be suffering from the outbreak, which is believed to be norovirus.

The ship was scheduled to set sail again today, but Carnival pushed the departure day back so the crew has extra time to disinfect the ship.

http://www.weartv.com/template/inews_wire/wires.regional.fl/22be37dc-www.weartv.com.shtml

 

[hawkeye]

Re: Over 700 Sick On Carnival Cruise Ship - flu-like symptoms, possible norovirus

bit more details

Sick cruise ship docked at Port Everglades this morning.
By NATALIE P. McNEAL
nmcneal@MiamiHerald.com

Hundreds of passengers of the beleaguered Carnivel Liberty Cruise Ship began debarking several hours after the ship docked around 5 a.m. today.

At Port Everglades shuttle bus drivers and baggage handlers wore blue plastic gloves to prevent infection. Yellow bottles of disinfectant were visible everywhere and vomit bags were being distributed to anyone who needed them.

Brian Swanson, 54, of Ontario, spent six days on the ship throwing up and suffering from diarrhea.

''I just want to go home,'' Swanson said.

Swanson, who lost 13 pounds on the cruise, said he stayed isolated in his cabin eating dry toast and bananas.

He couldn't order room service because of his illness. Swanson said he plans to visit his personal doctor when he returns home.

Gaston Leclerc, 56, of Montreal said he was sick for four days.

He didn't report to the infirmary. Leclerc said a lot of passengers didn't report their illness to medical staff or cruise ship officials.

''I took care of myself,'' Leclerc said.

While on the ship, guests were not allowed to grab food from the buffet line. Ship employees constantly wiped down handrails and restaurant menus were wiped with bleach between meals.

The outbreak on the 110-ton cruise ship, which hit more than 600 passengers and crew members, is among the largest in recent memory, according to the CDC.

The 2,804-passenger Liberty left a port near Rome on Nov. 3 for a 16-day trans-Atlantic voyage, and by the next day, guests began showing symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting. Those symptoms match Norovirus, a highly contagious virus that causes gastroenteritis, although the virus hasn't been confirmed on the Liberty.

Norovirus is sometimes called ''the 24-hour bug,'' but symptoms can drag on for three days.

Very few passengers remained ill on Sunday.

''It appears to have run its course,'' said David Fornechief of the Center for Disease Control's vessel sanitation program in Atlanta.

 

[tsalagiT]

Re: Over 700 Sick On Carnival Cruise Ship - flu-like symptoms, possible norovirus

Brian Swanson, 54, of Ontario, spent six days on the ship throwing up and suffering from diarrhea.

Gaston Leclerc, 56, of Montreal said he was sick for four days.

Norovirus is sometimes called ''the 24-hour bug,'' but symptoms can drag on for three days.
[/QUOTE]

ok. they mention noro can last up to 3 days. Of just the two cases we have any info pertaining to duration of illness, both are past the mentioned 3 days. One a whopping 6!

My question is for the med heads here. Does it really sound plausible to you that the virus on this ship, which lasted 4-6 days, is the norovirus? maybe my math is wrong.

thanks ~T

 

[Thornton]

Re: Over 700 Sick On Carnival Cruise Ship - flu-like symptoms, possible norovirus

Yes, there is variability in the numbers provided. A few instances of 4 to 6 days could be an outlier of the norm. If most people affected were sick for 6 days then they would need to look for a different bug.

We have a clinical pearl to describe this-
"Uncommon presentations of common diseases are more common than common presentations of uncommon diseases."
JT

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Over 700 Sick On Carnival Cruise Ship - flu-like symptoms, possible norovirus

"Uncommon presentations of common diseases are more common than common presentations of uncommon diseases."

Very good.

Sounds like another version of ...too many variables.

.

 

[tsalagiT]

Re: Over 700 Sick On Carnival Cruise Ship - flu-like symptoms, possible norovirus

thanks for the replies.

in any case...i think i'd prefer the Sonoma county version. Their noro is reported to have a duration of only two days. (in sonoma county school closing thread)