Norovirus

One of the fears I have, aside from possible claustrophobia, is the Norovirus. I see the ship we will be on in May, Grandeur, just had to cut a cruise short due to it. I also see last year the same ship had two back to back cruises where 100 people came down with it. Is this really common, or just a few cases? If an outbreak happens do they announce it to the passengers?

Sorry for the silly question. Just curious, especially with us being on Grandeur from Baltimore.

Norovirus is VERY common, not only on ships but anywhere large numbers of people congregate and share common spaces/fixtures/utensils - movie theaters, schools, hospitals, conventions, sports camps, etc. You hear about the cruise ship outbreaks most often because they are requires to report outbreaks over a certain percentage to the CDC, while other venues are usually not. Yes they will announce it onboard if a significant number of people come down with it. They will then institute mandatory precautions such as eliminating self serving in the buffets, removing salt and pepper shakers from tables, requiring the use of hand sanitizer when entering dining venues and even shops, possibly closing the library, etc. Your best protection is very frequent hand washing, plus hand sanitizer as a backup, and NEVER touch your hand to your face. Lots of people learn to touch elevator buttons with a knuckle instead of a fingertip; just don't do what we watched one woman do - use that same knuckle to scratch her nose.

It's miserable while you have it, but it's over in a couple of days. As has been reported here over and over, follow scrupulous hygiene onboard to minimize your chances of catching it. Outbreaks spread when people don't follow adequate sanitary measures and fail to quarantine themselves for the recommended time frame after contracting it.

Also, don't forget when you read a statistic like "2% of the passengers onboard came down with Noro", that 98% did NOT catch it. That message always seems to be ignored in the discussions.

And you're just as likely to get it at work :eek:

I sailed on a ship that was "sick" on the prior sailing. Buffet lines were served for 3 days into the cruise.

Probably the most common transmission vector for noro is any type of finger food. Contaminated hands touch a serving utensil. You touch the utensil, contaminating your hands. You touch your burger, or fries, or pickle or whatever, contaminating that, and you then eat it. The virus' job is now done, it has found a new host. If you've just gotta have a burger or pizza, use a knife and fork.

As others have said, the reported outbreaks are usually at the 3% infected range. The Grandeur is/was at 10%, which is a significant outbreak, but again, 90% did not catch it. The likelihood of catching it on a ship that has not had an outbreak is just about the same as one that did. During turnaround, the all guests will leave the ship, and it will be sanitized with industrial strength germicides. However, the first guest allowed to board the next cruise may be infected, and touch all of the handrails and elevator buttons and door knobs, and start the whole ball rolling again. Noro is not unique to cruise ships, you can even look at the CDC website for statistics about outbreaks at other places (universities, nursing homes, hospitals, etc.), though the last time I checked it was a few years out of date.

You only hear about it on cruise ships so much, because they HAVE to report it! It's very prevalent this time of year.,...schools, especially,.. hospitals, nursing homes, hotels...church...wherever there are groups of folks.

Do you know anyone who's had "stomach flu"? (There is no such thing, it's probably Noro!!!)

Like others said, you only really hear a lot about it on cruise ships because they make news. A few years ago they had to close down National Parks because of a Noro outbreak even!

My mother cruises at least 21 days out of the year for 10+ years and had never had a problem.

On the total other hand, my husband went to our local grocery store to get deli meat for work. He spent 3 of the worse days of his life because of it! How do we know it was the deli meat? He is the only one who eats it and it was the only thing he ate different from the rest of us. Needless to say the next week the whole Deli staff was gone from there. But my husband won't buy anything from there ever again!

Just remember even if you see people walking into the buffet or some place without using the hand sanitizer be on your guard, but there might be other reasons. I have had people give me lectures on ships because neither me or my youngest DS used the hand sanitizer when walking in. The reason? It makes our hands red, itchy and our palms peel. That just means our last stop before going anywhere with food is a bathroom to wash our hands! We just can't use alcohol based hand sanitizers which are the ones that really kill Noro and other bacteria/virus.

You only hear about it on cruise ships so much, because they HAVE to report it! It's very prevalent this time of year.,...schools, especially,.. hospitals, nursing homes, hotels...church...wherever there are groups of folks.

 

Do you know anyone who's had "stomach flu"? (There is no such thing, it's probably Noro!!!)

Most places, large outbreaks at nursing homes, schools jails and a few other locations have to be reported as well.

The first time we had a problem with the Noro Virus was in 2001. And back then the cruise lines didn't call it by that name or know much about it or how to try to clean a ship down.

It was a cruise starting in Seattle and ending in Ft Lauderdale. We were fine until we hit LA when quite a few people got on the ship already sick. And of course the virus spread since they knew so little about it back then. After going through the Panama Canal the CDC came on board and every passenger was handed a packet of questions about what they ate, where they ate (on and off the ship). It was pages long. The ship left Ft Lauderdale for one more cruise and the virus really broke out. The next 3 cruises were cancelled.

OH yes -- it was an interesting cruise as we were hit with a long shoreman's strike and no food supplies where put on board. They only agreed to take off luggage and put on luggage. The ship had completed a 7 day Alaskan cruise and really needed supplies in all departments. It was a 22 day cruise and by the last 5 days of the cruise, we down to a few choices of entrees on the dinner menu.

Since then we have been on many ships with the Noro Virus. We have arrived at the embarkation with no previous notice and did get a paper indicating the gastro- virus and on 2 of the cruises we were offered a chance to cancel and have our monies go towards a future cruise. I had just gotten out of the hospital a week before one of these cruises but we chose to still do the cruise. We had spent much on air hotels and knew we would lose even more trying to get home.

We have been on ships when the virus broke out -- quite a few times.

When there is a major outbreak (at least 3% -- I think) which we have experienced, the ship goes into Code Red. The pools are closed down, the library is closed, everything is handed to you in the Lido (no self service) and a few times we were so bad that the spa and beauty salon were closed down. Many of the activities were cancelled.

Being afraid of Norovirus is a totally waste of nervous energy :). Taking simple precautions to minimize your risk is smart and the best thing you can do is wash your hands (Often) in warm/hot soapy water (for at least 30 seconds) and avoid touching your face (especially near your mouth, nose or eyes) with your hands.

As to hand sanitizers they are certainly better then nothing but when it comes to Noro they are not a lot better then nothing! Normal Alcohol-based sanitzers do little to kill noro. Plain soap and water is still your best defense. And one popular theory (published by experts) is that the greatest risk of contacting Noro is on airplanes and around airports. So these are places where one should always heed the advice and wash your hands (and avoid touching your face).

Hank

Most places, large outbreaks at nursing homes, schools jails and a few other locations have to be reported as well.

We have had several of our schools closed in our area over the years because of the virus.

And some of the hospitals and nursing homes stopped visitations -- even to family members.

Doesn't Noro outbreaks occur more frequently during the winter months? At least in my short time on CC, it seems like most of the reported ones are between December and February. By March, most of the people are complaining about too many kids on board from Spring Break. :).

To OP, I would not worry. As PP mentioned, more likely to catch something at airport - Noro or otherwise, as you are on cruise ship. We have been on Grandeur twice - she is great ship, and sailing out of Baltimore is awesome.

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Wash your hands.

Pay attention.

Quit worrying.

One thing to note is that Norovirus is largely a seasonal affliction - many more outbreaks occur in the winter months. while there are no guarantees, cruising in May means you're much less likely to run into Noro than if you cruise in January.

http://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/trends-outbreaks.html

One of the fears I have, aside from possible claustrophobia, is the Norovirus. I see the ship we will be on in May, Grandeur, just had to cut a cruise short due to it. I also see last year the same ship had two back to back cruises where 100 people came down with it. Is this really common, or just a few cases? If an outbreak happens do they announce it to the passengers?

 

Sorry for the silly question. Just curious, especially with us being on Grandeur from Baltimore.

it is not the Cruise lines fault. The responsibility rests solely with the Passengers, going on feeling sick and still go on the Cruise. Not washing their hands and touching the food. Wash your hands and use plenty of sanitizer.

Not that common considering the number of ships and passengers in the course of a year.

One thing to note is that Norovirus is largely a seasonal affliction - many more outbreaks occur in the winter months. while there are no guarantees, cruising in May means you're much less likely to run into Noro than if you cruise in January.

 

 

http://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/trends-outbreaks.html

Good point. No real guarantee that will be the case.

Sitting here in my own home, I got up and scrubbed my hands with hot, soapy water after reading this thread about Norovirus! (LOL) I have had it twice.

Just a helpful hint, some people wipe down their cabin (don't forget the TV remote buttons and the safe) with antibacterial wipes. Your cabin likely will have been sanitized but it will make you feel better and takes two minutes. I wipe down my airline seat area and the tray, too. Ick.

Sitting here in my own home, I got up and scrubbed my hands with hot, soapy water after reading this thread about Norovirus! (LOL) I have had it twice.

 

Just a helpful hint, some people wipe down their cabin (don't forget the TV remote buttons and the safe) with antibacterial wipes. Your cabin likely will have been sanitized but it will make you feel better and takes two minutes. I wipe down my airline seat area and the tray, too. Ick.

Good idea.

As long as you remember that anti-bacterial wipes don't kill viruses.

You're right...but it makes me feel better somehow. The best thing you can do to stay healthy is wash your hands with soap and water. And sing happy birthday while you're at it.

We've been on two cruises in the past months without hearing even a ship's rumour about Noro; we arrived home and soon after heard that the nearest big hospital was closing 12 wards to outsiders because of it. Safer at sea, I reckon! ;)

Here's another data graphic from the CDC web page I linked to upthread.

After at least 50 cruises I got NORO in my home town of Aspen. Bet it was from Senior Center. I had racking abdomen pains for 3 days. Skin even hurt. Worse than delivering a child. Then it was gone. No cure known.

One of the fears I have, aside from possible claustrophobia, is the Norovirus. I see the ship we will be on in May, Grandeur, just had to cut a cruise short due to it. I also see last year the same ship had two back to back cruises where 100 people came down with it. Is this really common, or just a few cases? If an outbreak happens do they announce it to the passengers?

 

Sorry for the silly question. Just curious, especially with us being on Grandeur from Baltimore.

Not common. Secret to avoid problem is wash hands and wash hands.

I take immune suppressant drugs and I am not overly concerned about norovirus. I wash my hands often, don't eat at buffets, and try not to worry. I plan to do same on my cruise in May. May is low risk for Noro, there's another thing in my favor.