heyabbott
January 27th, 2005, 01:36 PM
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/10733306.htm?1c
http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=2320260 BVI refuses VEENDAM entry
BY JIM WYSS
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jwyss@herald.com
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Talk about seasick. Over the past two months the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has received reports of 10 cruise ships stricken with outbreaks of gastrointestinal problems -- more than double the number recorded during the same period a year ago.
The latest case is Holland America's Veendam, which sailed out of Tampa on Jan 15. According to the CDC, on Sunday the vessel reported that 107 of its 1,220 passengers -- or 8.8 percent -- had become sick. Illness rates of 3 percent or higher are considered an outbreak.
Earlier this month -- during a different leg of the cruise -- the same boat reported 70 ill -- 5.6 percent. Some of those passengers tested positive for norovirus, a hard-to-kill bug that causes symptoms associated with the stomach flu, such as diarrhea and vomiting.
''The norovirus, historically, has been cyclic over the course of a year, and some [years] are worse than others,'' said Dave Forney, chief of the Vessel Sanitation Program at the CDC. ``And we usually see more in the winter months than in the summer months.''
While researchers aren't certain why the seasonal trend exists, Forney said when lots of people close themselves up in confined spaces for extended periods, there is an elevated risk of noroviruses. College campuses, hotels and cruise ships are all prime breeding grounds.
Nick Schowengerdt, Holland America's director of policy and planning, said the Veendam would return to Tampa on schedule this Saturday.
''Typically you have one or two passengers that come on board and bring [the virus] with them,'' he said. ``Which is not to criticize them -- they usually don't know -- but it shows you just how easily it can be transmitted person to person.''
The norovirus is notoriously resilient, able to survive for weeks at a time on surfaces and then spread like wildfire through social contact. It's biggest foe: a bar of soap and frequent hand washing.
http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=2320260 BVI refuses VEENDAM entry
BY JIM WYSS
http://www.miami.com/images/common/spacer.gif
jwyss@herald.com
http://www.miami.com/images/common/spacer.gif
Talk about seasick. Over the past two months the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has received reports of 10 cruise ships stricken with outbreaks of gastrointestinal problems -- more than double the number recorded during the same period a year ago.
The latest case is Holland America's Veendam, which sailed out of Tampa on Jan 15. According to the CDC, on Sunday the vessel reported that 107 of its 1,220 passengers -- or 8.8 percent -- had become sick. Illness rates of 3 percent or higher are considered an outbreak.
Earlier this month -- during a different leg of the cruise -- the same boat reported 70 ill -- 5.6 percent. Some of those passengers tested positive for norovirus, a hard-to-kill bug that causes symptoms associated with the stomach flu, such as diarrhea and vomiting.
''The norovirus, historically, has been cyclic over the course of a year, and some [years] are worse than others,'' said Dave Forney, chief of the Vessel Sanitation Program at the CDC. ``And we usually see more in the winter months than in the summer months.''
While researchers aren't certain why the seasonal trend exists, Forney said when lots of people close themselves up in confined spaces for extended periods, there is an elevated risk of noroviruses. College campuses, hotels and cruise ships are all prime breeding grounds.
Nick Schowengerdt, Holland America's director of policy and planning, said the Veendam would return to Tampa on schedule this Saturday.
''Typically you have one or two passengers that come on board and bring [the virus] with them,'' he said. ``Which is not to criticize them -- they usually don't know -- but it shows you just how easily it can be transmitted person to person.''
The norovirus is notoriously resilient, able to survive for weeks at a time on surfaces and then spread like wildfire through social contact. It's biggest foe: a bar of soap and frequent hand washing.