Disinfecting

[SRF]

21 hours ago, MotownVoice said:

Then you won't  mind if we also count you in as the person to point at and blame when the entire ship is vomiting and racing to the lavatories because you were the one guy we spotted not washing his hands before sitting down to eat and is now responsbile for all of us having Norovirus.

 

What part of ALCOHOL BASED SANITIZERS DO NOTHING AGAINST NORO don't you understand?

[SRF]

16 hours ago, AmazedByCruising said:

Confined spaces? People acting different while on vacation? A different demographic? But most certainly, the predominant risk to get Noro, is that other people are infected. Like this not very precise number of 1% CDC reports. https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/trends-outbreaks/outbreaks.html 

The average US population is certainly not spending 1% of their time on a ship, (that would be 1300 large ships if only Americans would sail), so there are more people infected on ships, so the chance of being infected on a ship is much higher than in a mall.

 

Uh, no, cruise sip passengers are not more infected.

BUT, with a 1% infection rate in the population, on a large cruise ship (6000 passengers), you can expect about 60 infected persons on each cruise.

[grapau27]

2 minutes ago, boscobeans said:

 

She must have been infected prior to shaking hands with your steward.  

The average incubation period for norovirus-associated gastroenteritis is 12 to 48 hours, with a median period of approximately 33 hours. Illness is characterized by nausea, acute-onset vomiting, and watery, non-bloody diarrhea with abdominal cramps. In addition, myalgia, malaise, and headache are commonly reported.

Handshake was 8am and symptoms started 8pm after we got home.

[boscobeans]

2 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

Handshake was 8am and symptoms started 8pm after we got home.

Several could be misleading to some readers.  12 makes a more informative post.  👍

[grapau27]

5 minutes ago, boscobeans said:

Several could be misleading to some readers.  12 makes a more informative post.  👍

True I didn't want to go into too much detail.

She felt unwell a few hours later while we were traveling home on the train.

Stomach cramps got bad 12 hours later then vomiting and diarrhoea occurred several times during the night and the next day.

 

[AmazedByCruising]

17 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

So, these are your suppositions as to why the chances are greater, not any established data.  And that is 1% of reported and confirmed cases of noro in the US.  How many people do you think never mention that they spent a couple of days feeling sick to their doctors?

 

56 minutes ago, SRF said:

Uh, no, cruise sip passengers are not more infected.

BUT, with a 1% infection rate in the population, on a large cruise ship (6000 passengers), you can expect about 60 infected persons on each cruise.

 

I really thought I knew that Noro was more prevalent on a ship. 

But if it is, 60 seems a bit much, those people would all have the bad luck that their 1% chance/year hits them exactly during their 7 day cruise. 

 

https://cruising.org/about-the-industry/policy-priorities/public-health-and-medical/nororvirus-on-cruise-ships throws the year, and laboratory-confirmed and outbreak in one sentence to make it seem that the odds of an infection drops from 1 in 15 to 1 in 5,500... 

[MotownVoice]

1 hour ago, SRF said:

 

What part of ALCOHOL BASED SANITIZERS DO NOTHING AGAINST NORO don't you understand?

What part of:

"                                                                                                                                                                  "

Don't YOU understand?

[davelinde]

For the MDR I have usually washed my hands prior to leaving my cabin and am usually carrying a drink with me and opt out of a second sanitizing.  For the buffet I've usually walked there from where ever and will sanitize on my way in.  But no I don't think it should be mandatory and I don't expend much thought worrying about who is  and who isn't.   To be honest I'm a bit more put off by those who let their kids reach into buffet and ice-cream self serve areas.

[RedIguana]

23 hours ago, NHProud said:

Better to do something than nothing at all.   I think only bleach will kill bacteria, viruses etc.  If you wash your hands in the restroom then do not touch anything including faucet handles , door handles .  

 

We used to wipe down our lab tables with bleach in the graduate microbiology classes that I took for two years. 

In the real world micro lab I am in we use ethanol to wipe everything down. I just can't see RCL putting in ethanol stations:)

[NHProud]

8 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

In the real world micro lab I am in we use ethanol to wipe everything down. I just can't see RCL putting in ethanol stations:)

Funny you should mention ethanol.  When we were on our Panama cruise 110 pax came down with the norovirus.  Upon disembarkation , my husband was interviewed by our local TV station and he joked that there was more alcohol used disinfecting the ship than was served in the drinks during our lengthy cruise . They used it on-air.  

He knows better because he has a PhD in biochemistry.  However , onboard he started with the people cleaning and asked them what are you using , don’t know . He went up the chain of command and ended up asking guest services and still , we don’t know .  I think it is a compound that contains Ag that is effective.  Anyway , it kept him occupied.

 

To those on principle ( or why else ) who refuse to use Purell you are doing yourself and fellow pax a disservice.

 

 

[jagsfan]

On 9/30/2019 at 4:59 PM, chengkp75 said:

So, should all restaurants in your state require hand sanitizer before entering?

How about just the buffet restaurants?

[3red7s]

On ‎9‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 9:34 AM, Drock20J said:

Indeed! As we learned on the recent "Noro-Cruise" Purell does NOT kill the norovirus.

 

In order to keep that at bay, you need to have a Hydrogen-peroxide base solution. We bought some wipes for our last cruise to clean our room, just in case.

 

On the other hand, I do use the Purell as much as I see it. I want to make sure I am not going to get anything ELSE a cruise ship might throw at me.

we too wipe down our room upon arriving......especially the phone & the TV changer!

[Curt1591]

From the CDC:

From 2008 to 2014, 74 million passengers sailed on cruise ships in the Vessel Sanitation Program’s jurisdiction. Only 129,678 passengers met the program’s case definition for acute gastrointestinal illness and only a small proportion of those cases (1 in 10) were part of a norovirus outbreak.

On cruise ships, it seems that we are looking at only 1/10 of 1%. Since cruises report cases, one can assume it is actually more prevalent elsewhere.

The best defense against picking up a bug may just be keeping your own hands off your food and your face. 

😷

[Iamcruzin]

This just about sums it up

 

 

 

Edited October 2, 2019 by Iamcruzin

[SRF]

22 hours ago, AmazedByCruising said:

 

 

I really thought I knew that Noro was more prevalent on a ship. 

But if it is, 60 seems a bit much, those people would all have the bad luck that their 1% chance/year hits them exactly during their 7 day cruise. 

 

https://cruising.org/about-the-industry/policy-priorities/public-health-and-medical/nororvirus-on-cruise-ships throws the year, and laboratory-confirmed and outbreak in one sentence to make it seem that the odds of an infection drops from 1 in 15 to 1 in 5,500... 

 

You don't seem to understand statistics.

 

If, at a given time, 1% of people have noro, then on the ship, 1% of the passengers will have it.   It is not like those 60 people have it 1% of the time, they are 1% of the 6000 people on the ship.

[SRF]

16 hours ago, Curt1591 said:

From the CDC:

From 2008 to 2014, 74 million passengers sailed on cruise ships in the Vessel Sanitation Program’s jurisdiction. Only 129,678 passengers met the program’s case definition for acute gastrointestinal illness and only a small proportion of those cases (1 in 10) were part of a norovirus outbreak.

On cruise ships, it seems that we are looking at only 1/10 of 1%. Since cruises report cases, one can assume it is actually more prevalent elsewhere.

The best defense against picking up a bug may just be keeping your own hands off your food and your face. 

😷

 

Just because 1% of the people on board have it, doesn't mean there will be an outbreak.

 

And not everyone that has it, has an acute case.

[Drock20J]

14 minutes ago, SRF said:

You don't seem to understand statistics.

 

If, at a given time, 1% of people have noro, then on the ship, 1% of the passengers will have it.   It is not like those 60 people have it 1% of the time, they are 1% of the 6000 people on the ship.

And I can tell you, once there are that many reported cases, the countries that are visited will deny entry to the ship.

 

The Noro-Cruise was denied entry (we ported) in Jamaica with having only 45 confirmed cases (this quickly rose to 100+ by the time we left.) Mexico soon also denied the ship to even port, thus ending the cruise.

 

From what we were told by a crew member, the ship was VERY close to being denied to let disembarkation happen. The USA apparently has a rule that is 10% or greater of the ship's population has confirmed noro, they will deny entry. In the end, there were over 10% (I believe the final number was 700 passengers and crew.)

 

Once again, Wash your hands, use special wipes, use the dang purell if you can. It may not do anything for you, but if it helps calm the minds of those around you, does it really hurt?

[nanwel]

I use my own wipes - usually have one in my hand as I enter the eating area's - I then wipe my hands, arm rests of my chair and my table top edge near me - maybe over kill, but I do not want to get sick....

Had a person at the dinning room squirt that crap out so much it went all over my dress on formal night and ruined it. Should have made the cruise line clean it/pay for it. 

No idea why in this day they still have washroom doors - the walk in/out is so much better - but if I have to touch a door, it will be with a paper towel if they have them or just my pinky.

Do not think it should be mandatory to use the bottle crap they squirt out - I do not like the aroma of it and cannot eat with that on my hands.

[AmazedByCruising]

2 hours ago, SRF said:

 

You don't seem to understand statistics.

 

If, at a given time, 1% of people have noro, then on the ship, 1% of the passengers will have it.   It is not like those 60 people have it 1% of the time, they are 1% of the 6000 people on the ship.

 

That 1% figure is not number of people with Noro at any given time (not at all, it came up as the cases on ships compared to total cases). 

In the U.S., the risk of getting norovirus each year is about 1 in 15 (says CLIA).  Let's assume they only get sick once a year, for 3 days. That's 100 * 3 / 15 /365 = 0.054% of the population having Noro at any given time. 3.6 pax on a 6500 pax ship. 

 

 

[Samanthac25]

I honestly can't believe how many grown adults are angry over the thought of having to wash/sanitize their hands on a cruise ship. Washing your hands before you eat isn't just a standard on a cruise ship, but a standard of life. Have you not all been taught since childhood to wash your hands before eating? Is that not what you've preached to your own children? Illness spreads like a wildfire on cruise ships - that's a FACT. I can't understand why there's so much discourse and anger over the concept of requiring clean hands before entering a restaurant on board.

 

I've always been extra diligent with hand washing/sanitizing on cruses. Unfortunately my entire family got sick on our last cruise and lost more than half of our vacation, so I appreciate every single person that washes their hands and/or uses the sanitizer. Are they a guaranteed safety net? No. But do they help? Yes. I wouldn't be upset if it was a requirement to enter the MDR or buffet... I also will not sit at a shared table for sanitation purposes. I feel even stronger about having my own table now after reading all of the opinions on this thread!! 😑

[vacationlover_mn]

Since DH and I have both gotten noro on vacation, we now paranoid!  Wash hands before entering dining room, use their Purell when we enter, then use our own purell advanced after handling the menus 🙂

Edited October 2, 2019 by vacationlover_mn

[LXA350]

Not eating anything at Buffet venues such as Windjammer that requires your hands also helps a lot

[vacationlover_mn]

6 minutes ago, LXA350 said:

Not eating anything at Buffet venues such as Windjammer that requires your hands also helps a lot

I’m so paranoid at all buffets, that I use a napkin to handle any shared utensils 🙂

[reallyitsmema]

On 9/30/2019 at 6:06 PM, cujosmom said:

Call me crazy, but I have started bringing white/clear latex gloves on cruises and putting a pair on as I walk into the buffet.  Only after I have filled my plate, gotten my drink and finally seated, do the gloves come off.  I may look a little weird, but since doing this I have come home from the cruise, feeling well instead of sick. And, no, I don't use the same pair for the whole cruise, I bring a zip lock bag full (they squish down) so when going to buffet, I always have a fresh pair.

 

You use your gloved hand to pick up your plate, your glass, and your napkin wrapped silverware.  You then use your gloved hand to pick up the ladles that everyone else has been using.  That same gloved hand then touches your plate, glass and silverware as you put everything on your table.  You then take off your gloves and touch the same things with your bare hand that your gloved hand, which was used to pick up ladles, has touched.  You really aren't accomplishing anything with your gloves.

[grapau27]

14 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

You use your gloved hand to pick up your plate, your glass, and your napkin wrapped silverware.  You then use your gloved hand to pick up the ladles that everyone else has been using.  That same gloved hand then touches your plate, glass and silverware as you put everything on your table.  You then take off your gloves and touch the same things with your bare hand that your gloved hand, which was used to pick up ladles, has touched.  You really aren't accomplishing anything with your gloves.

Interesting point.

Another question.

Who washes the tap while washing their hands?

I guess most people have put germs on the tap,washed their hands then put the germs back onto their hands when they turn the tap off.