Ebola, are the cruiselines ready?

With all these reports lately of Ebola and its appearance now in North America it got me wondering. Are the cruise lines ready to handle this? It is inevitable that someone from a country with an outbreak hops on a cruise ship some day. Think of the uproar and affects to the health of passengers and crew should they be sick. Think of the news agencies descending on a ship floating off the coast of Miami, the entire ship quarantined. It would be a circus like none other. We all know how they love it when a ship has a Noro outbreak but Ebola? Jeepers. And the impact to cruising would be a disaster.

So I wonder. Have the cruiselines started looking at this and if so what precautions are they taking to limit their exposure and what plans are in place for an emergency outbreak at sea like this? Should they be declining guests who have traveled or are from regions in the world where there are large outbreaks? Maybe they should be looking at their boarding process and seeing what they can do there to limit exposures. If you are from or have traveled to a country with an outbreak then perhaps you get extra screening - maybe, depending on where you came from, you don't get to board at all. Perhaps they should have a Recent Travel section on their web pages for when you check in on line that you must fill out all your recent travels.

Anyway, its a scary thing to think about but I sure hope the cruiselines are doing just that. They've been known for closing the barn door after the horse leaves at times, lets hope they're giving this some serious thought.

. Are the cruise lines ready to handle this?

I doubt it.

I was thinking about this last night. I'd been considering booking a cruise this December, but I admit that I'm a bit hesitant now. I'm not ruling it out, but I may wait a few more weeks to see how things look. We had alternate land vacation plans in case the cruise didn't get to a low enough price or in case it sold out before I booked it, so either way we'll get away. Just not sure if it'll be on a cruise.

Asking questions won't to anything. The guy from Liberia was asked before he boarded the plane if he was exposed and he said no. People will just lie because the alternative will be no vacation for them. I am not worried so much about the passengers but about the crew. Don't forget about them, returning from time off or visiting family, sneezing on food. And should stay out of the pools.

Of course this can happen on any vacation, and any airplane or hotel room.

I guess they could check your pass port for recent travel, but that would be profiling, and we all know people would be in an uproar, if they got wind of that.

You can live your life in fear, or just take it one day at a time.

I know people are very afraid of this virus, but I promise you, as far as likelihood of infection goes, you're being afraid of the wrong place.

And they aren't going to quarantine anyone at sea and abandon the sick. America isn't the middle ages. They'd probably bring the ship to port and make it stay quarantined at the dock so they could get treatment for anyone who did fall ill.

best to stay indoors, don't travel, stock up on non perishable foods

And await for the panic to die down:rolleyes:

Mass outbreak on a cruise ship, I doubt it with a 4-21 day incubation period, how would they even know if someone had contracted the disease?

Unless it was a 21 night or longer!

Would be easy to quarantine the ship if there was an outbreak, do not let it back to dock.

Not for one minute am I saying it is not a serious issue, before the flame throwers ignite their torches.

I live in Dallas, and 1 person in the US who has it is in Dallas..

1 out of 250,000,000.:eek: of the U.S. population

More people contracted H1N1 and swine flu.

Would I cancel a cruise, cancel vacation NO.

Would I travel to a country like Sierra Leone or Libya or any place where I have a chance of being infected. NO.

Really no need to start panicking and canceling cruises just yet:)

Although Ebola can survive for several hours on dried surfaces such as doorknobs and countertops, bleach will kill it. I suspect that the chlorine in the pools will do the same.

The population of the United States is 318,000,000.

Shirley, Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Although Ebola can survive for several hours on dried surfaces such as doorknobs and countertops, bleach will kill it. I suspect that the chlorine in the pools will do the same.

How long can Ebola live on a surface?

In one study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Ebola virus lived on a surface in a perfectly controlled environment for up to six days.

Think of the uproar and affects to the health of passengers and crew should they be sick. Think of the news agencies descending on a ship floating off the coast of Miami, the entire ship quarantined. .

I don't think about it at all.

The population of the United States is 318,000,000.

 

 

Shirley, Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

1-318,000,000 odds even greater!!:rolleyes:

More chance of killing yourselves and others from texting and driving in US, than getting Ebola

With all these reports lately of Ebola and its appearance now in North America it got me wondering. Are the cruise lines ready to handle this? It is inevitable that someone from a country with an outbreak hops on a cruise ship some day. Think of the uproar and affects to the health of passengers and crew should they be sick. Think of the news agencies descending on a ship floating off the coast of Miami, the entire ship quarantined. It would be a circus like none other. We all know how they love it when a ship has a Noro outbreak but Ebola? Jeepers. And the impact to cruising would be a disaster.

 

So I wonder. Have the cruiselines started looking at this and if so what precautions are they taking to limit their exposure and what plans are in place for an emergency outbreak at sea like this? Should they be declining guests who have traveled or are from regions in the world where there are large outbreaks? Maybe they should be looking at their boarding process and seeing what they can do there to limit exposures. If you are from or have traveled to a country with an outbreak then perhaps you get extra screening - maybe, depending on where you came from, you don't get to board at all. Perhaps they should have a Recent Travel section on their web pages for when you check in on line that you must fill out all your recent travels.

 

Anyway, its a scary thing to think about but I sure hope the cruiselines are doing just that. They've been known for closing the barn door after the horse leaves at times, lets hope they're giving this some serious thought.

Are the cruise lines ready? Is the US ready? One got in. Do you think, even under the best of circumstances that the cruise lines could do any better. If you were infected today, you wouldn't know it tomorrow. Then after you board the ship it is too late.

However, you could get killed driving to the pier. You could get killed (I don't mean murdered) sitting in your own house.

Basically you have to evaluate the risks and decide if you are comfortable with it or not. I've got a cruise coming up. I'm going.

Heart disease is the number one killer in the US, but I doubt you'll see cruise ship menus going the healthy route or many cruisers picking the healthy options. About 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year–that’s 1 in every 4 deaths. So next time you're on a cruise look around and with probably over 25% of the folks you see (it is a cruise after all) dying of heart disease ask yourself, how many of these people will die from Ebola? Kind of puts things into perspective. Just sayin.

Heart disease is the number one killer in the US, but I doubt you'll see cruise ship menus going the healthy route or many cruisers picking the healthy options. About 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year–that’s 1 in every 4 deaths. So next time you're on a cruise look around and with probably over 25% of the folks you see (it is a cruise after all) dying of heart disease ask yourself, how many of these people will die from Ebola? Kind of puts things into perspective. Just sayin.

Actually, cruise lines do have a healthy choice menu. I don't know how healthy the healthy choices actually are, but the cruise lines do offer it.

I don't think about it at all.

This. I have a better chance of falling over the rail and drowning than getting Ebola on a cruise.

Well, you're more likely to contract Hepatitis or tuberculosis than ebola.

 

 

I live in Dallas, and 1 person in the US who has it is in Dallas..

1 out of 250,000,000.:eek: of the U.S. population

Of course nothing will be gained by panic - but citing an initial statistic :

"1 out of 250,000,000 (incorrect, by the way) : eek: of the US population"

is truly inane. After all, case number one in Africa represented much more favorable odds : 1 out of 1,033,000,000 --- and things there are a bit different now.

Influenza is coming, E Coli is coming, TB, hepatitis, cholera, pneumonia, norovirus, heck...the common cold is coming, etc. etc. etc. Are the cruise lines ready for them? (more people have died from any of the above, or complications from them, than from Ebola)

Panic much?

http://www.vox.com/2014/10/1/6880393/ebola-virus-outbreak-disease-myths-facts-debunked-america

I don't think there's terribly high risk of widespread ebola disease as it now stands but if the virus should mutate, it could become more communicable and harder to contain. However, in deciding whether or not to cruise, ebola has not factored into my thinking.

Ebola outbreaks in humans, until this current bout, have been savage but short. What virologists fear is that with this prolonged outbreak in humans, the virus may have a chance to mutate in humans so that it becomes transmissible airborne. If that happens, we have more things to worry about than a cruise ship being infected.

Influenza is coming, E Coli is coming, TB, hepatitis, cholera, pneumonia, norovirus, heck...the common cold is coming, etc. etc. etc. Are the cruise lines ready for them? (more people have died from any of the above, or complications from them, than from Ebola)

Panic much?

 

http://www.vox.com/2014/10/1/6880393/ebola-virus-outbreak-disease-myths-facts-debunked-america

Years ago when I was first learning of Noro like Viruses on cruise ships (and in the community as a whole), I asked my physician friend if we should cancel a particular cruise we were booked to sail as I learned there had been a Noro outbreak on board. He cautioned me the usual precautions and pointed out far more people will die from flu each year than will ever die from Noro like virus. Of course, he was and still is correct.

Of course nothing will be gained by panic - but citing an initial statistic :

 

 

"1 out of 250,000,000 (incorrect, by the way) : eek: of the US population"

 

is truly inane. After all, case number one in Africa represented much more favorable odds : 1 out of 1,033,000,000 --- and things there are a bit different now.

The US has a much better health care system than Africa and has been monitoring and reporting. Sure, it may have started with just one in Africa, and there is one in the US. However, by the time it got to five, the US health care system would have been all over it (they are now - and it is still only one). It was large and out of control before Africa (which is a land mass, not a country) began to try and control it.

One thing to remember about Ebola is that a carrier is not contagious until he/she is showing symptoms. By that time, as quickly as Ebola works, the potential passenger won't feel like travelling, or will report to Medical. The potential crewmember (for those who like to blame all illnesses on crew) would be far too sick to work (remember, they get paid whether they are working or sick in their room). Both instances would be easy to isolate. Why is the OP more worried about Ebola on a cruise ship than on an airplane, which would be more likely to have flown to or carried someone who had been in an infected area.

And for the poster who stated that Ebola had been kept viable on surfaces for six days, you killed your own argument when you stated "in absolutely perfect conditions". What are the perfect conditions for Ebola? I sure don't know, but I would suspect it would be at an elevated temperature, and without UV rays from the sun.

Are the cruise lines "ready" for Ebola? No more than air transportation or the US population in general. Why do they need to be more prepared than anyone else? I don't get the worry.

To gain any understanding of this disease, and your own personal likelyhood of catching it, you must understand cultural differences between US citizens and folk who live in the tribal areas of West Africa. There, families and individuals are much more resistant to Modern medical technique and have a history of preparing the dead for burial in their own homes and close contact with those bodies immediatly after death. Most folk here in the US do not prctice such care for their dead and instead use the services of a Funeral home. Culturally we don't usually touch our dead ourselves. Ebola is most contagious when harbored in the bodies of the deceased. My thought would be, are our medical services and Funeral professionals ready for an influx of hazardous materials. In W Africa, the dead stay at home and re-infect close family members. If your afraid of doorknobs, wear gloves, afraid of airborn, stay home and use surgical masks when you go out, as the Japanese have done for many years. Our worst enemy is a generalized panic or fear running rampant throughout our society which breaks down our civilized system. We are not rabbits and do not suffer from Tularemia if you catch my drift. Many courageous people all over the World are working feverishly to bring this monster to heal. PS. I'm retired Military and my specialty was Disaster Preparedness. I studied Ebola over 35 years ago and it is nothing new, an old enemy which has haunted humanity for centuries. If you want an alien invader for a movie, Ebola can play the starring role.