Cruise ship
outbreaks of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea have been a hallmark of the industry
almost since the birth of the industry.
Not a hidden secret, but not something that is included in the tourist brochures
– seven days of sun, surf, seafood with great views of the inside of a bedroom
and bathroom.
The vessel
sanitation program of CDC provides details on current and past outbreaks going
back twenty years. Also on the website
are some historical documents on the history of cruise ships outbreaks http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/ and the
development of a formalized program.
Based on reducing numbers of outbreaks through the last decade, some
success appears to be happening. The
office maintains responsibility for cruises that land at any point in a US
port. Returning Alaskan cruises with
destinations in Vancouver may not be included in surveillance where no outbreak
was identified prior to the last US port.
Canada
however lacks such rigorous surveillance.
Places like the port of Vancouver have protocols for ships entering the
port with GI outbreaks, but fall between various jurisdictions relative to
their oversight.
Both
countries have other dirty hidden secrets from tourists. Visitors to national parks on both sides of
the border may be greeted not only by beautiful scenario and wildlife – but outbreaks
of Norovirus during peak summer season are common and rarely reported yet
identified. Tracking national park outbreaks is best done through popular and
social media, such as the 2013 Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks.
Canada’s
favourite national parks are not immune, with outbreaks investigated on both
sides of the BC-Alberta border in documents that are in very grey literature
and inaccessible.
Norovirus has
a routine annual visit like influenza, the current cruise ship attention merely
highlights again.
No comments:
Post a Comment