Norovirus hit passengers and crew aboard the Ruby Princess as it was returning to Port Everglades on Friday, and intensive cleaning will delay the vessel’s embarkation Sunday and now a second ship, the Crown Princess, has even more sick.
Officials with Princess Cruises said 81 people, or 2 percent of 3,133 passengers, and nine of 1,186 crew members on Ruby Princesswere suffering from the highly contagious sickness that causes upset stomach, vomiting and diarrhea. The ship was returning from a seven-day Caribbean cruise and is scheduled to arrive in Port Everglades on Sunday.
Princess said crew members were intensifying their cleaning procedures as the ship is en route. Once the vessel is in port, extra cleaning crews will go aboard to disinfect cabins and public areas, delaying its embarkation time Sunday from 1 p.m. until 2 p.m., but will depart on schedule at 4 p.m.
On Crown Princess, total of 140 passengers, or 4.5 percent of total passengers, and 18 crew, have been affected by the illness, confirmed Princess Cruise Lines. Ruby Princess is scheduled to returns to Port Everglades on Sunday, likely delaying the embarkation of the next round of passengers.
Fact: Norvirus is very much avoidable.
How to avoid Norovirus?
Here are some tips to maximize your chances of not getting the Norovirus bug while on your cruise:
- Wash your hands- like on land, our hands contact all sorts of things and people, many of which may have horrible sicko germs, waiting to attack us. Do y0u know how to wash your hands? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the people that police these things, have instructions on how to do it.
- Don’t count on the hand sanitizers- those hand sanitizer dispensers all over the ship are mostly for show in the grand scheme of things. They help but there is no substitution for a good hand washing.
- Avoid touching things- Hand rails on stairs, elevator buttons, attractive small children, walls are all things that some sick person might have touched before you.
- Don’t pick your nose- I know, gross, but a really good way to get germs on your fingers into your body.
- Avoid closed spaces- Cruise ships themselves provide the closed environment that the Norovirus needs to multiply and thrive. Elevators then, are almost like a closed environment within a closed environment and should be avoided. It won’t kill most people to take the stairs and get some extra exercise either.
- Narc on sickos- If you can’t sleep because strange sick-person sounds are coming from the cabin next to you, tell your cabin steward. At the very least your steward may appreciate the heads up and take extra precautions when cleaning that cabin.
- Bomb your cabin- Upon entering your stateroom the very first time, drop your bags and blast the entire space with an air sanitizer like Ozium that has “active ingredients that actually cleanse the air” says the manufacturer. Don’t talk about this “bombing” you have plans for when boarding the ship. That sort of thing makes security people nervous.
The closed environment a cruise ship provides is a safety shield that keeps travelers from harm wherever they sail. But that same environment is also a excellent breeding ground for the norovirus that causes cramping, diarrhea and vomiting, spreading easily from person to person on cruise ships. Now, scientists believe they may have the answer, a vaccinefor norovirus.
“It is possible to prevent infection and illness with a vaccine for norovirus,” Dr. Robert Atmar, a professor of medicine and molecular virology at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston told Medicine Plus. But many questions remain unanswered, he said. For example, “we have to figure out the best way to give it and how long protection lasts.”
Tested on 98 people who received the vaccine or an inactive placebo, all of the participants tested positive for a gene that makes them more susceptible to the norovirus. But those who received the new vaccine were less likely to develop the illness than their counterparts who received the placebo, the study showed. Also, they were also affected by the bug less frequently than their counterparts who did not receive the vaccine and 70 percent of people responded to the vaccine.
Administered as two doses three weeks apart via a nasal spray, there were no safety issues seen in the study and side effects were minimal.
“Further study is needed to answer questions such as who should get the vaccine and how long the protection lasts,” said Dr. Thomas Hooton, a professor of infectious disease at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine noting the norovirus is “a mess and spreads like wildfire.”
When will this new treatment be available?
No timetable has been set but Atmar suggested the likely initial candidates would be people in nursing homes, health-care workers, the military and segments of the food industry.
The study was funded in part by LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals, maker of the vaccine.
Related articles
- First Of 2 Ships With Norovirus Outbreaks Attives At Port Everglades (miami.cbslocal.com)
- Two South Florida-Bound Princess Ships Hit By Norovirus (miami.cbslocal.com)
- South Florida-Bound Princess Ship Hit By Norovirus (miami.cbslocal.com)
- Cruise illness vaccine in the works, promises to prevent norovirus (chriscruises.net)
[...] some tips to maximize your chances of not getting the Norovirus bug while on your cruise, found on Chris Owen’s cruise [...]