Cholera on Haiti

[Dawnaurora]

Update from Haiti: Hurricane Thomas passed far enough to the west for Haiti to avoid the kind of damage everyone feared, especially in Port au Prince. There are reports of some flooding and wind damage around Port de Paix, which is fairly well east of Labadie. Since there have been no cases of cholera reported in that area other than those who 'just got off the bus', I really don't think that changes the exposure risk for the area around Labadie. For cruise passengers, it's still a case of follow the usual precautions and you should be fine.

[bjolin]

You have a better chance of getting TB from the person next to you in the elevator that is coughing their brains out or getting the flu virus from your shopping cart handle than getting cholera in Labadee. I am not downplaying the concern that people have for their own health. You are your own best advocate, but really, do some research before you panic.

[rsander5]

I understand that the food and water will be safe; my concern is with the potential runoff from the river contaminating the surrounding water and producing a "red tide". The current news reports show that the main river is going to over flow its bank washing potentially hundreds of pounds of contaminated material into the ocean.

 

I am not sure of the tides, but to me this raises a concern that this material could wash around the island polluting the resort area. Unfortunately, if the ocean is contaminated there is not much you can do except just look at it from the beach.

[Tgwrightsr]

Heading on Freedom of the Seas next week and will be in Labadee on Tuesday. A little concerned, but I feel the food comes from the ship and I will only drink Alcohol :) - so I should be fine.

 

Not sure of the sanitation issues on the northeast part of the island vs. the issues they are facing in the southwest part.

 

I have mixed feelings about vacationing given the country's condition, but I also firmly believe that I am supporting the economy.

[Dawnaurora]

Update from Haiti - the cholera outbreak has turned into a pretty much nationwide epidemic. Labadee's cruise 'port' is pretty much cut off from the country in 'immigration quarantine' so it should still be safe if people follow the regular diarrhea avoidance precautions.

 

Given how scared cruise lines are of norovirus outbreaks, my guess is that Royal Caribbean will shift to another Port sooner rather than later if there are real risks of the water being contaminated.

 

FYI, water from the Artibonite drains into the bay between two VERY long peninsulas, so I don't think that river's water would make it to Labadie.

[nrdsb4]

Update from Haiti - the cholera outbreak has turned into a pretty much nationwide epidemic. Labadee's cruise 'port' is pretty much cut off from the country in 'immigration quarantine' so it should still be safe if people follow the regular diarrhea avoidance precautions.

 

Given how scared cruise lines are of norovirus outbreaks, my guess is that Royal Caribbean will shift to another Port sooner rather than later if there are real risks of the water being contaminated.

 

FYI, water from the Artibonite drains into the bay between two VERY long peninsulas, so I don't think that river's water would make it to Labadie.

 

Thanks for the update. I'm pretty ignorant of the geography of that region, so your information is appreciated.

[gingerllt]

As of today, the news reports more than 900 deaths and sees no end in sight. We are leaving for a cruise in 2 weeks that stops at this port and I cannot believe that RCCL has not decided to cancel this port. ;(

[TPKeller]

As of today, the news reports more than 900 deaths and sees no end in sight. We are leaving for a cruise in 2 weeks that stops at this port and I cannot believe that RCCL has not decided to cancel this port. ;(

The fact that RCCL has not, and likely will not, cancel this port should tell you that your assumptions are not at all relevant to the situation on the ground at Labadee. If the situation becomes a danger to the passengers and/or crew of the ships, they will cancel. They have done it in the past, when such action was appropriate. If the situation is not a danger, then why should they?

 

Theron

[nolimits]

I wouldnt like to be the first reason they see the light. I also will be there in 3weeks and am not worried bottled water and no straw market(not crew locals) hand sanitizers on off ship should keep us out of danger

[Maxiecat3]

As of today, the news reports more than 900 deaths and sees no end in sight. We are leaving for a cruise in 2 weeks that stops at this port and I cannot believe that RCCL has not decided to cancel this port. ;(

 

It looks like you live in CA. You probably have a better chance of catching something on the plane flight to the port than you do have of getting cholera while in Labadee. It sounds as if you have never been to Labadee. It is basically isolated from the rest of Haiti, and food and drink are brought off the ship for the lunch.

 

Gregg

[janetz]

It looks like you live in CA. You probably have a better chance of catching something on the plane flight to the port than you do have of getting cholera while in Labadee. It sounds as if you have never been to Labadee. It is basically isolated from the rest of Haiti, and food and drink are brought off the ship for the lunch.

 

Gregg

 

 

Well said. Anyone so bothered by going there should just stay on the ship.

[Ocean Boy]

As of today, the news reports more than 900 deaths and sees no end in sight. We are leaving for a cruise in 2 weeks that stops at this port and I cannot believe that RCCL has not decided to cancel this port. ;(

 

And I cannot believe that RCI should cancel this port. If you do not like, or agree with, the facts regarding the transmission of Cholera as it relates to Labadee then stay on the ship. Why should RCI change its plans for its ships and for thousands of passengers because of someones unfounded concerns?

[cruzemaven]

they are saying now that it is inevitable that cholera will spread to Port a Prince and the other side of the island .... I think they said Santa Domingo..... the other island that they are connected to....this is not good...even though they told the Haitians not to drink the water they still do it because they can not afford to buy bottled water and no one has given them tablets to purify the water....so things are very bad there....

 

It was reported today there is a confirmed case of Cholera in the Dominican Republic

[Bakincakes]

Evidently that case is a worker who returned from Haiti to the Dominican.

[nrdsb4]

Evidently that case is a worker who returned from Haiti to the Dominican.

 

Very important detail. Thanks for clarifying.

[jmraggs]

It was reported today there is a confirmed case of Cholera in the Dominican Republic

 

Evidently that case is a worker who returned from Haiti to the Dominican.

 

Very important detail. Thanks for clarifying.

 

There is now a confirmed case here in Florida on the West coast. The woman just returned from Haiti while visiting relatives.

[cruzemaven]

There is now a confirmed case here in Florida on the West coast. The woman just returned from Haiti while visiting relatives.

 

Hope the workers who come to the Labadee beach and interact with crew and passengers aren't visiting relatives and friends who have Cholera. I know person to person contact spread is unlikely...however, it is not impossible.

[foxhound]

Anti-UN riots happened in Cap Haitien, 6 miles from Labadee by road, where there is a spike of cases.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40239335/ns/health-infectious_diseases/

[jmraggs]

Hope the workers who come to the Labadee beach and interact with crew and passengers aren't visiting relatives and friends who have Cholera. I know person to person contact spread is unlikely...however, it is not impossible.

 

I guess it could happen, but I am not too worried about it as I never get that close to islanders there anyway and even if I did, the chances would be extremely slim of contacting it.

 

Looks like you're embarking on Allure just when I am disembarking off of it!:D

[Aquahound]

And I cannot believe that RCI should cancel this port. If you do not like, or agree with, the facts regarding the transmission of Cholera as it relates to Labadee then stay on the ship. Why should RCI change its plans for its ships and for thousands of passengers because of someones unfounded concerns?

 

Agreed. You are not going to catch Cholera by going to Labadee and Labadee is not going to be rioted upon.

 

You are more likely to catch dengue from a mosquito getting on the cruise ship in S. Florida.

[juliang]

I have had cholera. It is horrific. It can be spread person to person- for example in the urine or faeces of an infected person- who then doesn't wash their hands and prepares food or even drink for you. That is how I got it- in a restaurant.

 

I was healthy- I almost died- 6 weeks in hospital- major surgery.

 

If they are appealing for donations via aid agencies please give if you can afford it.

I did a post on this yesterday which expressed my opinion that RCCL should not stop at Labadee for the time being. The contrary opinion is that the risk is negligible. It is a bacteria. If spread via liquid, that means that someone on Haiti who works in Labadee-ie the Haitian staff there, the vendors, food preparer etc, could have picked up the bacteria on their hands, and not even know it. The bacteria has a long shelf life and it could be days before a person even knows they have it. Despite precautions, human activity involves thousands of, countless possibilities and inadvertences. The CDC has spent months investigating and tracing how various diseases were spread from point A to point B and a hundred points in between. The more people that have the disease, even unwittingly, the greater the possibility that that little invisible germ can be spread. If no human that lived on Haiti ever set foot in Labadee since the outbreak, then it might be a different matter. Labadee is not an Island, but a peninsula and people come to it from the mainland, where it is rampant. If a passenger gives a ride to one or more of those microscopic germs, they wont even know it for quite a while.

 

As far as RCCL not taking a known risk, they have big investment in Labadee. BP thought their risks were negligible. There are other examples where, if caution were exercised, the outcome would have been different. There is an epidemic there, not a few isolated cases.

 

There is no eleemosynary duty for the passengers on RCCL--of which I will be one--to go into such possible danger. I am going on a cruise, not a missionary endeavor. RCCL built a port there to earn money from passenger interest in its cruises, not for altruistic purposes.

 

Staying on the ship, which already has a number of days at sea, as opposed to scheduling another port, is not the purpose of this cruise or me paying RCCL for it.

[sutuz]

I did a post on this yesterday which expressed my opinion that RCCL should not stop at Labadee for the time being. The contrary opinion is that the risk is negligible. It is a bacteria. If spread via liquid, that means that someone on Haiti who works in Labadee-ie the Haitian staff there, the vendors, food preparer etc, could have picked up the bacteria on their hands, and not even know it. The bacteria has a long shelf life and it could be days before a person even knows they have it. Despite precautions, human activity involves thousands of, countless possibilities and inadvertences. The CDC has spent months investigating and tracing how various diseases were spread from point A to point B and a hundred points in between. The more people that have the disease, even unwittingly, the greater the possibility that that little invisible germ can be spread. If no human that lived on Haiti ever set foot in Labadee since the outbreak, then it might be a different matter. Labadee is not an Island, but a peninsula and people come to it from the mainland, where it is rampant. If a passenger gives a ride to one or more of those microscopic germs, they wont even know it for quite a while.

 

As far as RCCL not taking a known risk, they have big investment in Labadee. BP thought their risks were negligible. There are other examples where, if caution were exercised, the outcome would have been different. There is an epidemic there, not a few isolated cases.

 

There is no eleemosynary duty for the passengers on RCCL--of which I will be one--to go into such possible danger. I am going on a cruise, not a missionary endeavor. RCCL built a port there to earn money from passenger interest in its cruises, not for altruistic purposes.

 

Staying on the ship, which already has a number of days at sea, as opposed to scheduling another port, is not the purpose of this cruise or me paying RCCL for it.

 

Yes, the CDC has been investigating the cholera outbreak, and this is a response I got from them via an email inquiry:

 

Thank you for your inquiry to CDC-INFO. We understand your concerns. In response to your request for information on travel to Haiti and the cholera outbreak, we can provide you with the following information.

 

Travelers who follow usual tourist itineraries and who observe food safety recommendations while in countries reporting cholera have virtually no risk.

If the CDC doesn't feel it's a risk, perhaps we can put this subject to rest until something causes them to change their minds? Please??

[juliang]

Yes, the CDC has been investigating the cholera outbreak, and this is a response I got from them via an email inquiry:

 

Thank you for your inquiry to CDC-INFO. We understand your concerns. In response to your request for information on travel to Haiti and the cholera outbreak, we can provide you with the following information.

 

Travelers who follow usual tourist itineraries and who observe food safety recommendations while in countries reporting cholera have virtually no risk.

 

If the CDC doesn't feel it's a risk, perhaps we can put this subject to rest until something causes them to change their minds? Please??

 

Thank you for the CDC advisory.

 

However, I just googled the CDC advisory on their website. Either we will be on some sort of special task essential to national security, or we have been talking about a different Labadee which is not part of Haiti and on which no Haitain has set foot in recent memory. Here is the advisory, with the pertinent warning bolodfaced.

Outbreak Notice

Cholera in Haiti

This information is current as of today, November 18, 2010 at 14:00 EST

 

Updated: November 10, 2010

 

Advice about Cholera for Travelers Arriving in the U.S. from Haiti

Five Basic Cholera Prevention Messages

Info for Healthcare Professionals

Acute Watery Diarrhea & Cholera: Pre-decision Brief

Cholera Outbreak in Haiti

General Cholera Info

Haiti Earthquake and Travel

 

An epidemic cholera strain has been confirmed in Haiti, causing the first cholera outbreak in Haiti in many years. Cholera is a potentially fatal bacterial infection that causes severe diarrhea and dehydration.

The disease is most often spread through the ingestion of contaminated food or drinking water. Water may be contaminated by the feces of an infected person or by untreated sewage. Food is often contaminated by water containing cholera bacteria or because it was handled by a person ill with cholera.

The majority of cases have been reported in the Artibonite Departmente, approximately 50 miles north of Port-au-Prince. Affected hospitals are being strained by the large number of people who are ill.

This outbreak is of particular concern given the current conditions in Haiti, including poor water and sanitation, a strained public health infrastructure, and large numbers of people displaced by the January earthquake and more recent flooding.

The World Health Organization, along with a number of international agencies, is mobilizing to assist local and national response efforts.

Advice for Travelers

 

At this time, CDC and the U.S. Department of State maintain travel warnings for Haiti. These warnings recommend that U.S. citizens avoid all nonessential travel to Haiti. For more information, see Travel Health Warning: Major Earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on the CDC website.

Most travelers are not at high risk for getting cholera, but people who are traveling to Haiti should still take their own supplies to help prevent the disease and to treat it. Items to pack include

• A prescription antibiotic to take in case of travelers’ diarrhea
  
• Water purification tablets*
  
• Oral rehydration salts*
  

*In the United States, these products can be purchased at stores that sell equipment for camping or other outdoor activities.

Although no cholera vaccine is available in the United States, travelers can prevent cholera by following these 5 basic steps:

1) Drink and use safe water*

 

• Bottled water with unbroken seals and canned/bottled carbonated beverages are safe to drink and use.
  
• Use safe water to brush your teeth, wash and prepare food, and to make ice.
  
• Clean food preparation areas and kitchenware with soap and safe water and let dry completely before reuse.
  

*Piped water sources, drinks sold in cups or bags, or ice may not be safe and should be boiled or treated with chlorine.

To be sure water is safe to drink and use:

• Boil it or treat it with water purification tablets, a chlorine product or household bleach.
  
• If boiling, bring your water to a complete boil for at least 1 minute.
  
• To treat your water, use water purification tablets, if you brought some with you from the United States, or one of the locally available treatment products, and follow the instructions.
  
• If a chlorine treatment product is not available, you can treat your water with household bleach. Add 8 drops of household bleach for every 1 gallon of water (or 2 drops of household bleach for every 1 liter of water) and wait 30 minutes before drinking
  
• Always store your treated water in a clean, covered container.
  

2) Wash your hands often with soap and safe water*

 

• Before you eat or prepare food
  
• Before feeding your children
  
• After using the latrine or toilet
  
• After cleaning your child’s bottom
  
• After taking care of someone ill with diarrhea
  

* If no soap is available, scrub hands often with ash or sand and rinse with safe water.

3) Use latrines or bury your feces (poop); do not defecate in any body of water

 

• Use latrines or other sanitation systems, like chemical toilets, to dispose of feces.
  
• Wash hands with soap and safe water after defecating.
  
• Clean latrines and surfaces contaminated with feces using a solution of 1 part household bleach to 9 parts water.
  

What if I don’t have a latrine or chemical toilet?

• Defecate at least 30 meters away from any body of water and then bury your feces.
  
• Dispose of plastic bags containing feces in latrines, at collection points if available, or bury it in the ground. Do not put plastic bags in chemical toilets.
  
• Dig new latrines or temporary pit toilets at least a half-meter deep and at least 30 meters away from any body of water.
  

4) Cook food well (especially seafood), keep it covered, eat it hot, and peel fruits and vegetables*

 

• Boil it, cook it, peel it, or leave it
  
• Be sure to cook shellfish (like crabs and crayfish) until they are very hot all the way through.
  
• Do not bring perishable seafood back to the United States.
  

* Avoid raw foods other than fruits and vegetables you have peeled yourself.

5) Clean up safely—in the kitchen and in places where the family bathes and washes clothes

 

• Wash yourself, your children, diapers, and clothes at least 30 meters away from drinking water sources.
  

Before departing for Haiti, talk to your doctor about getting a prescription for an antibiotic to treat travelers’ diarrhea. If you are traveling in Haiti and have severe watery diarrhea, seek medical care right away. It is important to remember to drink fluids and use oral rehydration salts (ORS) to prevent dehydration.

Medical care facilities are strained with the high number of people who are ill. If you will be traveling to Haiti, CDC recommends that you purchase medical evacuation insurance in the event that you become ill while in Haiti. (See the U.S. Department of State list of U.S.-Based Air Ambulance or Medical Evacuation Companies.) If you are in Haiti and need medical care and you do not have access to medical evacuation, you can contact the Embassy of the United States in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, (American Citizens Services Unit office hours are 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Consular Section is closed on U.S. and local holidays.):

Boulevard du 15 October, Tabarre 41, Tabarre, Haiti

Telephone: (509) (2) 229-8000

Facsimile: (509) (2) 229-8027

Email: acspap@state.gov

More Information

 

• 2010 Haiti Cholera Outbreak
  
• Cholera (from CDC Health Information for International Travel 2010)
  
• Safe food and water (CDC Travelers’ Health website)
  
• Cholera (CDC website about cholera)
  

[sutuz]

We're talking about the same Haiti and we're talking about the same CDC. That is their general warning and their response to me was SPECIFIC to the private area of Labadee, which is what I was asking them about.

 

You may write to them yourself, if you like. I had their response within 2 days of contacting them via their website.

[TPKeller]

Thank you for the CDC advisory.

 

However, I just googled the CDC advisory on their website. Either we will be on some sort of special task essential to national security, or we have been talking about a different Labadee which is not part of Haiti and on which no Haitain has set foot in recent memory. Here is the advisory, with the pertinent warning bolodfaced. [most trimmed for space considerations]

There is no discrepancy here, despite the fact that cruise passengers are not traveling on matters of national security.

 

For all practical purposes, Haiti has only one "usual tourist itinerary", and that is Labadee. Since the only people who go to Labadee are cruise ship passengers, the CDC does not really have to go out of their way to address their advisories to these passengers. When the CDC says "usual tourist itinerary", that is synonymous with "Labadee". It is pointless to consider any non-cruise visitor would be a tourist in Haiti at this time, so it is perfectly logical to write their advisories in that tone.

 

Perhaps Royal Caribbean needs to issue a press release saying "We make our local Haitian workers wash they hands before they come to work!" Do you think that would make you feel any better?

 

This really isn't as hard as some people apparently really want it to be.

 

Theron