Cruise Ship Epidemic

I had never heard, or at least not paid attention, to the common spread of disease on-board cruise ships. Apparently, some ships become so infected that the entire SHIP becomes quarantined and has to stay away from shore for a certain number of hours/days.

Before we boarded our Holland America boat we had to fill out of a quick questionnaire for everyone in our party. Have you been sick in the last 48 hours. Have you experienced vomiting in the last 48 hours? Have you had diarrhea in the last 48 hours? Have you been in close proximity to anyone with these symptoms? The answers for my entire family was "NO", but it occurred to me that even if it was "yes" I probably wouldn't admit it since I wanted to go on my vacation! Gosh darn it if I had been sick. This was an expensive trip and I was getting on board!

It seemed strange to me that when we boarded every major facility (except the casino, because money, cards, and slot machines obviously don't harbor germs!) had a pair of automatic Purell dispensers. They were motion sensitive, similar to the automatic soap dispensers in some bathrooms. We were told to use them before eating and other times to avoid the spread of diseases. Since I'm pretty germ-a-phobic I appreciated this extra precaution.

The following is a timeline of our boat's "Code Red":

Christmas morning 4am. The first family-member "falls" victim to the GI bug. After being very sick for a few hours, she calls the medical facility on board. They immediately quarantine her for 48 hours. The nurse comes to give her extra Purell bottles and some anti-nausea pills. Her eyes practically bulge out when she sees all 8 of us in the room AND (heaven forbid!) 2 young children. She asks "have THEY been around you too???" No, they've never met...they are just standing in this total strangers room on Christmas day opening her presents for her?! I can see fear in the nurse's eyes.

Now I'm especially nervous too since my kids had been hanging all over her and spending tons of time in that room (Cal had even slept there). I get even more obsessive about hand-washing than usual. I'm also a fatalist and expect the worse, so every queasy feeling MUST be the beginning of the bug. I lay out towels by our beds every night. I explain to Cal what to do if he needs to throw up (best option is toilet, next best is the bucket in the middle of the room, most desperate option is the towel by the bed).

Family member #2 gets sick the next morning. That evening family member #3 gets sick.

The captain makes an announcement on the loud speaker that there is an illness going around and we must be extra careful to wash our hands an use Purell.

We receive a letter under our door that night saying that all sick persons must report their illness to the medical staff and be quarantined for 48 hours.

The next day we receive another letter repeating the previous information and saying that extra precautions are being taken to prevent the further spread. The hot tub will be closed. All self serve buffets will be closed. All bread, butter, salt, pepper, and drinks will be given to you by a glovedcrewmember.

That evening we get another letter saying that because young children are staying in our room we need to be particularly careful of about thorough hand washing.

The next day we hear from a waiter that this is considered "Code Red". One family member learns that this only occurs about once per year on this ship.

Finally...the cruise is over and no one else in our party has gotten sick. Phew!!! The captain announced that 27 people had reported being sick which was less than 2% of the boat. I know that this is not a random sampling, but when 3/26 people in my party get sick, I have to believe that a significant more than 2% of the ship got
sick. I know that many people did not report their illness. I'm guessing that it was much closer to 8 or 9% of the boat. Everyone knew someone sick. There were plenty of tales to be overheard at the breakfast buffet. I spent at least half of the trip dreading when it would be my turn, or the kids turn. I tried to figure out what we would do if Lissi got the bug since she can't even get on the toilet by herself and we hadn't brought any pull-ups for her on the trip.

The cruise really was great, but it makes me re-think the "idyllic vacation". I found an interesting article here. It says "Norovirus is often termed the "cruise ship virus," even thought the vast majority—some 60 percent to 80 percent of outbreaks—occur on land. However, it is often more unmistakable on cruise ships because all sick passengers and crewmembers are treated by the same physician, who is required to prepare a special report for the CDC if an outbreak affects 2% or more of the passengers or crew. The CDC launches and investigation if 3% of passengers orcrewmembers become ill." Based on my guesstimates, the CDC should certainly have been investigating this voyage!