Live from AOS. Apparently Norovirus is alive and well

[tricializ]

They have some sort of outbreak of this virus, but won't say how much of a threat it really is. All I can report is that they have hand sanitizers everywhere and you use them before entering the restaurant or before you get on ship after port. Today, they even had staff dolling out the food in the buffet line; not letting any passenger touch anything. In fact, our Masseuse from the other day was handing out watermelon slices. LOL They said that they confine the people sick to their rooms so hopefully this has been caught. I am a little nervous because we fly home tomorrow. That would be pretty hard to travel with.

Other than that, the cruies has been wonderful. Perfect weather and service the entire time. :)

Tricia

[Madkitty]

bugger we're off 2 weeks today!

[AFT_LOVER]

So who had the baby sitting on the table with a dirty diaper, or in a pool that folks injested water. Or a Senior Citizen with a bladder problem in their Depends. The chair you sit in they may have been in. Someone from the bathroom who didn't wash their hands & shakes yours. This is the chief cause of Nirovirus.

 

It is not just cruiselines, grocery stores have it & now they have cart cleaning wipes to use. Restaurants, schools, nursing homes even hospitals have it breaking out with dirty people touching handles, chairs, tables, etc.

 

So be like MONK! Wipe down everything you touch, carry paper towel from bathroom to open doors, don't shake hands or hug anyone. But when you swim in the pool with the fecal matter in it also, you will be very ill. So cool off in a shower - much healthier!

 

Wash your hands before touching your face!

[murphy3]

Thanks for the info. We too, will be on AOS in two weeks. On our first cruise I wiped down all the handles, switches, the remote, the phone, etc. when we came on board. Since that first cruise I have relaxed a bit. Now I know to come prepared again with my clorox wipes for the cabin and to use that hand sanitizer they have available.

[ChristieNJ]

I would definitely bring antibacterial wipes and use them and the gel constantly. I do in real life anyway. I mean I'm not a fanatic. But at my gym, after I get out of the shower, I sit at a certain vanity to dry my hair, do my makeup, etc. It's right near the bathrooms. You wouldn't believe how many people these days use the toilet, and just walk out!! Are you kidding me? Do you know how gross that is??? These are the same people that touch the same door handles you are touching. And yes this can happen anywhere, except the LAST place I would want it to happen is on my vacation! So I would always take more precaution when on a cruise, where there are many people in a confined area.

[time4u2go]

Be advised that antibacterial gel will do nothing to prevent a virus!

[GMoney]

So who had the baby sitting on the table with a dirty diaper, or in a pool that folks injested water. Or a Senior Citizen with a bladder problem in their Depends. The chair you sit in they may have been in. Someone from the bathroom who didn't wash their hands & shakes yours. This is the chief cause of Nirovirus.

 

It is not just cruiselines, grocery stores have it & now they have cart cleaning wipes to use. Restaurants, schools, nursing homes even hospitals have it breaking out with dirty people touching handles, chairs, tables, etc.

 

So be like MONK! Wipe down everything you touch, carry paper towel from bathroom to open doors, don't shake hands or hug anyone. But when you swim in the pool with the fecal matter in it also, you will be very ill. So cool off in a shower - much healthier!

 

Wash your hands before touching your face!

 

E Coli and norovirus are 2 very different things. Norovirus outbreaks on ships are not uncommon. I've never heard of an E Coli outbreak.

[ChristieNJ]

Be advised that antibacterial gel will do nothing to prevent a virus!

 

Oh that's true....Noro is a virus and not a bacteria. :eek: I'll never cruise again!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, RIGHT! :P Neither Noro, nor E. Coli, nor influenza, nor......:D

[MIcruiser99]

That sounds very similar to our cruise in Sept. We were delayed boarding because the previous cruise had an outbreak of 200 people sick with norovirus. They were trying to disinfect the ship before our cruise started.

 

It was the first cruise that they had hand sanitizers there before you could enter the dining room. The staff was consitantly wiping down tables and chairs after the people were done. You had to be careful your chair was dry or end up with bleach marks on your pants :( .

 

We were never allowed to serve ourselves from the buffet which made the lines long but I would rather have long lines and not get sick!

 

I think all those measure kept the virus contained on our cruise. I did hear of a few cases but nothing like the 200 on the previous cruise.

[jwlane]

Or a Senior Citizen with a bladder problem in their Depends.

Like no one else ever pees in the pool.:rolleyes:

 

Sorry, don't think noro- is in urine.

[AFT_LOVER]

that folks get that turns into Norovirus when passed from party to party. Hot tubs & Pools are major areas for contamination. We got it in Mexco swimming in the Bay of Banderas. From snorkeling & getting water down the tube we drank some & were sick for 3 days & one bathroom!

 

Jerks are everywhere so always be on alert to stay well at home, on a cruise, even at church!

Like no one else ever pees in the pool.:rolleyes:

 

Sorry, don't think noro- is in urine.

[jwlane]

Fecal matter is E Coli that folks get that turns into Norovirus when passed from party to party.

Huh?

 

"Fecal matter" from the bladder? You're losing us on this one.

[nrdsb4]

So who had the baby sitting on the table with a dirty diaper, or in a pool that folks injested water. Or a Senior Citizen with a bladder problem in their Depends.

 

 

that folks get that turns into Norovirus when passed from party to party. Hot tubs & Pools are major areas for contamination. We got it in Mexco swimming in the Bay of Banderas. From snorkeling & getting water down the tube we drank some & were sick for 3 days & one bathroom!

 

Jerks are everywhere so always be on alert to stay well at home, on a cruise, even at church!

 

Norovirus has nothing to do with urine. You cannot get norovirus by being exposed to urine in a swimming pool or anywhere else.

 

E-coli is a bacterium found in stool. It cannot "turn into norovirus." However, it will make humans very sick if they consume food contaminated with e-coli.

 

Norovirus is caused by a group of viruses, not e-coli bacteria. It is passed on via the fecal/oral route and causes similar symptoms to e-coli poisoning in affected people.

 

For more info:

 

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus-qa.htm

 

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/escherichiacoli_g.htm

[WhiteSoxFan]

We sailed the Explorer late last March after a couple of cruises had outbreaks in the preceding weeks and had no problem. As stated the hand sanitizers were out in force. There has been, however, much debate in this forum as to the effectiveness of the sanitizer used on the ships, many stating it is useless and others stating that it is different from the anti-bacterial sanitizer one would purchase in the stores.

 

The bottom line is, and was stated in a video and letter we received on the ship, wash your hands frequently and thoroughly.

[aldewitt]

The easy thing is just this. Wash your hands before you eat. Wash your hands before blowing your nose, etc. Don't let your kids hold on to the handrails going down the stairs. Encourage them to keep their hands near it in case they stumble, but generally, don't let them touch them. Make sure your kids wash their hands whenever possible. But always make sure they wash before eating. Handwashing will have a greater effect on your not catching the virus than will anything else.

 

For heaven's sake, don't EVER drink out of a water fountain.

 

Clorox wipes for your own area is a good idea since you don't know that Typhoid Mary wasn't the last passenger in your cabin. Hand sanitizer gel is a good thing to carry. It might not protect you against all viruses, but it will knock down quite a few germs..

 

If you get it, drink like a fish. Dehydration is what makes it a real ugly disease. The sooner you hydrate, the sooner you'll feel better.

[tricializ]

There has been, however, much debate in this forum as to the effectiveness of the sanitizer used on the ships, many stating it is useless and others stating that it is different from the anti-bacterial sanitizer one would purchase in the stores.

 

The bottom line is, and was stated in a video and letter we received on the ship, wash your hands frequently and thoroughly.

 

All I can say about the stuff on the ship is that it had to be about as close to 100% alcohol as possible. It was pretty thin, dried quickly and smelled just like rubbing alcohol. The thing that drove me nuts were the people who didn't read that it was light sensored and keep banging their dirty hands onto the dispenser instead of just holding their hands underneath it.

[PA Dutchman]

I wounder if this is more abundent when there are alot of people seasick ??

 

Noroviruses are very contagious and are found in the feces or vomit of those infected. Norovirus infection is typically spread by the consumption of contaminated water and food, particularly shellfish and salad ingredients. Foodborne illness caused by Norovirus can also be acquired by touching surfaces contaminated with the virus, then placing your hand in your mouth. Additionally, if you share food or utensils with an individual who is infected, you are at risk for becoming infected yourself.

[nrdsb4]

I wounder if this is more abundent when there are alot of people seasick ??

 

Noroviruses are very contagious and are found in the feces or vomit of those infected. Norovirus infection is typically spread by the consumption of contaminated water and food, particularly shellfish and salad ingredients. Foodborne illness caused by Norovirus can also be acquired by touching surfaces contaminated with the virus, then placing your hand in your mouth. Additionally, if you share food or utensils with an individual who is infected, you are at risk for becoming infected yourself.

 

Which can happen in the buffet line. Someone infected who has not washed properly touches the serving utensil, you follow behind, use the same utensil, then touch your mouth at some point. That's why it's probably a good idea to use some hand wipes after you sit down, before you touch your silverware or mouth.

[MIcruiser99]

The thing that drove me nuts were the people who didn't read that it was light sensored and keep banging their dirty hands onto the dispenser instead of just holding their hands underneath it.

 

We saw the same thing. Kind of defeats the purpose of having the hand sanitizers!:rolleyes:

[jspang]

We were on the AOS last week (11/5). Ate at the Windjammer soon after we arrived on the ship. I'm 100% sure the food was contaminated up there. 3 out of 4 in our group got very sick around 9:00 that night. We were on a chicken noodle soup, jello and sherbet diet until Friday night. We spoke to the head waiter about it on Tuesday and he said he would check into it but never returned. On Friday night when the ship was on "code red" I spoke to him and yes there was a problem. I have gone thru sea sickness before and food poisoning and I guarantee you it was the food up there. Our waiter told us his cabin was near the medical facility and there were people everywhere down there on the floor waiting to see the doctor. We just self quarantined ourselves to our cabins and slept it off.

[LLSullie]

Sorry about the duplicate post

[LLSullie]

bugger we're off 2 weeks today!

 

December 10th here ... Let us know how it goes.

 

This is my boyfriend's first cruise and NV is the last thing we need. I'm hoping to get him hooked! :rolleyes:

[Twaincruisers]

I've always pointed out that hand sanitizers do not affect viruses, but I just read the Liberty posting on the Carnival threads and they have a quote from the CDC that indicates the hand sanitizers can be effective to a degree against noro, as long as hand washing is used as the major weapon against noro. Unfortunately, I don't have a cruise booked to test that theory!

[Langley Cruisers]

All I can report is that they have hand sanitizers everywhere and you use them before entering the restaurant or before you get on ship after port. Today, they even had staff dolling out the food in the buffet line; not letting any passenger touch anything.

 

You know what? It was exactly like this for us on Explorer in April and I have to say I wish it was this way all the time. Can you imagine the dramatic drop in viruses and bacteria that would be passed on? Hallelujah! I was happy to have a gloved crew member serve me from the buffet. It's awesome. :D

 

~Karen

[aqhacruiser]

Norovirus has nothing to do with urine. You cannot get norovirus by being exposed to urine in a swimming pool or anywhere else.

 

E-coli is a bacterium found in stool. It cannot "turn into norovirus." However, it will make humans very sick if they consume food contaminated with e-coli.

 

Norovirus is caused by a group of viruses, not e-coli bacteria. It is passed on via the fecal/oral route and causes similar symptoms to e-coli poisoning in affected people.

 

For more info:

 

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus-qa.htm

 

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/escherichiacoli_g.htm

 

Absolutely correct!