Test before boarding ship

[CruiserBruce]

I've never been a fan of the anti-bacterial soaps and see no need for them. Plain soap is preferable IMO.

 

All the antibiotic resistant bacteria we are hearing about these days possibly are at least a little a result of the huge dependence many have on antibacterial soaps and cleansers.

 

 

Again, agree totally.

[BassettMom]

I experienced the heat-detectors at airports flying within China soon after the SARS outbreaks.

 

We all took Tylenol extra-strength the morning before flights! Because ANY fever would or could cause you to be pulled out of the line!

 

When getting off the ship for a port call in Nagasaki, everyone had to go through customs and that entailed passing in front of a heat detecting camera that could register if anyone had a temperature. Presumably, if you did, you wouldn't be allowed to enter Japan.

 

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[Zach1213]

I experienced the heat-detectors at airports flying within China soon after the SARS outbreaks.

 

We all took Tylenol extra-strength the morning before flights! Because ANY fever would or could cause you to be pulled out of the line!

 

 

Still common in many places around the world. I frequent Hong Kong and always have to walk through an area that senses temperature, just before immigration.

[ehfl]

I don't think it's your mouth they would have to swab. And I don't think many people would agree to have a stranger swab that particular area.

[Ashland]

Still common in many places around the world. I frequent Hong Kong and always have to walk through an area that senses temperature, just before immigration.

Yes we were made very aware of this practice on our China trip.

[Dayenu]

This is not a brand specific question, even though we've all seen the news recently but I started wondering...Is there some way at check-in, they could swab your mouth and test for Norovirus? You don't board unless you get a negative test? I'd gladly pay an extra few bucks to be assured folks weren't lying when they sign the waiver saying they haven't been sick or been around people who were in the last 48 hours. I mean, they have it for many other medical conditions.

 

Just a question, no need to put someone on blast and how this would be a rights infringement or be linked to some government spying agency.

 

Do you know that food can be contaminated too? Can you test everything that comes on-board? All food handlers who grew veggies?

 

http://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/food-handlers/work-with-food.html

[RickT]

Rather than a test I think the cruiselines could do a lot to combat this by better educating people on what causes Noro to spread.

 

Things I saw on my last cruise...

 

1) Guy reaching for a piece of cheese with his hand. Picks it up and puts it back on the tray :eek: (yes, I spoke to him and then called over someone from the ship who immediately closed down the station)

2) People coughing and sneezing without covering their mouth (or washing their hands after)

3) People not washing their hands after using the restroom (you know who you are....)

4) People refusing to use the hand sanitizers when prompted by staff. I know these don't necessarily go a long way towards stopping noro by why do people think they are "special"?

 

I could go on and on but perhaps along with the muster drill they should have something in the cabin outlining some simple dos and don'ts?

[Zach1213]

When getting off the ship for a port call in Nagasaki, everyone had to go through customs and that entailed passing in front of a heat detecting camera that could register if anyone had a temperature. Presumably, if you did, you wouldn't be allowed to enter Japan.

 

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Not necesarilly. They wouldn't just say "you're feverish, leave the country". There is more to having a temperature than that. They will pull you aside, question you, take your temperature directly, and make a decision based on all of that. A friend of mine was stopped at an airport in...ugh...I don't remember, but I think Busan (South Korea) because he showed a temperate on the walk-through channel before immigration. He had put in incredibly long days working outside in the summer on his new house, and ended up with heat exhaustion and sun burn. He explained this to them after they pulled him aside, and it took about 20 minutes of discussion before they decided he was not truly sick in the traditional sense.

 

I don't know how he survived that plane trip. I had bad heat exhaustion once and it was hard enough to lift a piece of pizza, let alone fly halfway around the world.

[LrgPizza]

People can be contagious several days before they have any symptoms of illness. Just because someone puts on paper that he hasn't been sick, and then passes it to 100 others before spending the remainder of the cruise in the head, doesn't mean he lied. There is a chance the person really didn't know he was passing anything along until it was too late.

[sherilyn70]

When getting off the ship for a port call in Nagasaki, everyone had to go through customs and that entailed passing in front of a heat detecting camera that could register if anyone had a temperature. Presumably, if you did, you wouldn't be allowed to enter Japan.

If that person took medicine before the scan the temperature would return to normal... so it's not very effective in the grand scheme of things.

[calliopecruiser]

If that person took medicine before the scan the temperature would return to normal... so it's not very effective in the grand scheme of things.

 

Actually, it's still helpful as a first-line screening. Not every fever can be fully resolved with medication, especially from severe disease, and of course not everyone knows they have a low grade fever.

 

Nothing will fully protect against disease or identify every infected person or item - so risk reduction is the plan, and the reason for these types of screening tests. Then it just becomes a balance between the cost of the screening tests vs the amount of decreased risk. For instance, screening for fever isn't terribly expensive or invasive, whereas doing rectal swabs on every cruise passenger to test for Norovirus would be very expensive and invasive.