Gastro-intestinal illness travels fast even in the first class cabins of the most luxurious cruise ships.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), close quarters provide the perfect bacterial catalyst for widespread transmission. Last year alone, norovirus affected more than a thousand passengers traveling on cruise ships, and every year as many as 21 million Americans contract it.
Although the norovirus is usually spread from personal contact, it can also be transmitted through contaminated surfaces, food or water. This very week the CDC is in the throes of an investigation onboard Royal Caribbean's Explorer of The Seas concerning an outbreak of this disabling virus, which induces vomiting and diarrhea. According to the cruise line, the cause of the outbreak is unknown, but more than 650 people, both passengers and crew, have fallen mysteriously ill.
Even more disturbing is the fact that this ship scored a 98 out of 100 on its last inspection in July of 2013 and that this marks the second outbreak this year aboard a cruise ship.
Last year, the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program reported nine gastro-intestinal outbreaks and seven of these were attributed to the norovirus. The virus sickened about 1,200 passengers. CDC statistics indicate that the number of outbreaks onboard cruise ships has increased in the last decade. It is believed that the cause for this collectively concerns both an increase in passenger and sailing traffic and in the number of outbreaks.
According to Dr. Lin Chen, Director of the Travel Medicine Center at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts: "There are attempts to control these types of outbreaks, but it's hard to guarantee that it's not going to happen for any particular cruise."
Cruises remain a popular diversion and should not be ruled out as viable travel alternatives. Time will tell on this most disturbing situation.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
