Sick passengers not allowed ashore...

[Aussieflyer]

Apologies for typos/missed words in post - the key pad is little and my fingers are large and Apple thinks it is helping by fixing the spelling!

[Aus Traveller]

Noro is contagious and can quickly spread where there are a high number of people in a small/contained area, for example, nursing homes, kindergartens and cruise ships. I saw on Radiance a sign in the public toilets suggesting you use a paper towel to open the door when leaving the restrooms. Good idea but then where to you put the paper towel?

Others have suggested collecting your food from the buffet and then washing your hands again before eating.

I also read that if wash your hands for the length of time it takes to sing Happy Birthday through twice, that is the period of time needed to really clean them. I wonder how many do a quick flit under the tap and call that washing.

P&O and Princess also have signs in the public toilets that passengers should use a paper towel to open the door. They have a waste-paper bin right near the door so as you hold the door open with your foot, you can put the paper in.

[The_Big_M]

Noro is contagious and can quickly spread where there are a high number of people in a small/contained area, for example, nursing homes, kindergartens and cruise ships. I saw on Radiance a sign in the public toilets suggesting you use a paper towel to open the door when leaving the restrooms. Good idea but then where to you put the paper towel? .

 

Open door with towel, hold door with foot, throw towel in bin beside door, and off you go!

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Have you noticed that the public toilets at airports, shopping centres etc , no longer have a main entry door. You walk a zig zag path to get in. I have seen the same on cruise ships too.

I have also seen ships jam open the doors of public bathrooms on embarkation and the first day or two of a cruise.

 

[Guest012]

If you are suffering from any gastro or flu like illness onboard any ship and feel you require medical attention you should NOT attend the medical centre before ringing to advise them of your symptoms and let them be the judge of whether you come to them or they come to you..

[RD MULLET]

I saw on Radiance a sign in the public toilets suggesting you use a paper towel to open the door when leaving the restrooms. Good idea but then where to you put the paper towel?

Same signs are also on Voyager, and most of the Public restrooms also have a button to push if you are a disabled person which opens the door for you. This button is very conveniently place at the same height as my Elbow, which hardy ever goes in my mouth.:D

[NSWP]

And you can only imagine how many pax have the virus, but don't report it for fear of being confined to cabin. They just get around the ship and give it to everybody else, plus if they go ashore off it goes with them to infect the landlubbers, which has probably occurred in NZ with VOS.

[pax2]

I always carry around one of those little bottles of hand sanitisers, used as well as hand washing, especially just before touching one's cutlery or food.

Husband has become quite fanatical about it and as soon as we enter cabin for first time everything gets a wipe down with it. Switches T.V controller etc, it doesn't take long and probably helps. You never know if previous Pax was ill or not best be safe than sorry

[Aussieflyer]

Open door with towel, hold door with foot, throw towel in bin beside door, and off you go!

 

It's ok if you are agile, tall or have good hand eye coordination. I fail on all three counts! :)

[Miamia65]

I took glen 20 and disinfectant wipes and sprayed and wiped everything in the cabin when we arrived, which was tuesday but we still got the virus on friday.

 

Yes people had the virus and said "we just sweated it out in the cabin" and then spread it as they didnt go to the medical centre and claimed that they didnt realise they should.

 

After calling the medical centre we were asked to go down there and the doctors were already "run off their feet" with many cases ..... When the third person contracted it and I was quarantined and I called again and said my daughter needs to be treated and we again were told come to the medical centre, the queue was longer this time. I took a tissue with me so that i could press lift buttons etc without spreading anything and had been continually washing my hands! To have a virus where you vomit to the point where it is just bile is NOT enjoyable, especially on holidays!! Sorry to be graphic.

 

It really is very contagious especially in a contained environment. It is what it is .... But we will cruise again!

[Aus Traveller]

A funny cruise story relating to Glen 20 -

 

Friends of ours (who don't read CC:)) sprayed knobs/switches in their cabin with Glen 20 and before going to bed they sprayed the air conditioning vents. They were tucked up in bed (both starkers) when the phone rang. When they answered it an automated voice told them they had to vacate the cabin immediately. Rush! rush! to put some clothes on so they wouldn't shock the neighbours. Just before they rushed out the phone rang again and a someone (a person this time) asked them if they had a fire in the cabin. My friends insisted they didn't so they were told to disregard the previous instruction.

 

The next morning their cabin steward told them that their automatic fire alarm had been triggered and asked if they knew why? Light-bulb moment! They played dumb and didn't admit to spraying the fire alarm sensor by mistake, but they didn't do it again.

 

Message - if you use Glen 20, don't spray the fire alarm sensor on the ceiling.:D

[Miamia65]

A funny cruise story relating to Glen 20 -

 

Friends of ours (who don't read CC:)) sprayed knobs/switches in their cabin with Glen 20 and before going to bed they sprayed the air conditioning vents. They were tucked up in bed (both starkers) when the phone rang. When they answered it an automated voice told them they had to vacate the cabin immediately. Rush! rush! to put some clothes on so they wouldn't shock the neighbours. Just before they rushed out the phone rang again and a someone (a person this time) asked them if they had a fire in the cabin. My friends insisted they didn't so they were told to disregard the previous instruction.

 

The next morning their cabin steward told them that their automatic fire alarm had been triggered and asked if they knew why? Light-bulb moment! They played dumb and didn't admit to spraying the fire alarm sensor by mistake, but they didn't do it again.

 

Message - if you use Glen 20, don't spray the fire alarm sensor on the ceiling.:D

OMG that is funny because I sprayed the air conditioning vents ..... So glad that didnt happen to us lol

[Aussieflyer]

We have been told from a reliable source that hand sanitisers don't work against Noro. The most effective thing is frequent, thorough hand washing with soap. Also refraining from touching face with hands (especially the mouth). I have only ever had Noro once and that was one too many times.

[GHDPeter]

http://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/preventing-infection.html

 

Preventing Norovirus Infection

There is no vaccine to prevent norovirus infection, but research is being done in this area.

Practice proper hand hygiene

Wash your hands carefully with soap and water—

 

especially after using the toilet and changing diapers, and

always before eating, preparing, or handling food.

Noroviruses can be found in your vomit or stool even before you start feeling sick. The virus can stay in your stool for 2 weeks or more after you feel better. So, it is important to continue washing your hands often during this time.

 

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can be used in addition to hand washing. But, they should not be used as a substitute for washing with soap and water. See “Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives.”

 

Wash fruits and vegetables and cook seafood thoroughly

 

Carefully wash fruits and vegetables before preparing and eating them. Cook oysters and other shellfish thoroughly before eating them.

 

Be aware that noroviruses are relatively resistant. They can survive temperatures as high as 140°F and quick steaming processes that are often used for cooking shellfish.

 

Food that might be contaminated with norovirus should be thrown out.

 

Keep sick infants and children out of areas where food is being handled and prepared.

 

When you are sick, do not prepare food or care for others who are sick

You should not prepare food for others or provide healthcare while you are sick and for at least 2 to 3 days after you recover. This also applies to sick workers in settings such as schools and daycares where they may expose people to norovirus.

 

Many local and state health departments require that food handlers and preparers with norovirus illness not work until at least 2 to 3 days after they recover. If you were recently sick, you can be given different duties in the restaurant, such as working at a cash register or hosting.

 

Clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces

After throwing up or having diarrhea, immediately clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces. Use a chlorine bleach solution with a concentration of 1000–5000 ppm (5–25 tablespoons of household bleach [5.25%] per gallon of water) or other disinfectant registered as effective against norovirus by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For more information, see EPA’s Registered Antimicrobial Products Effective Against Norovirus (Norwalk-like virus) .

 

Note: Evidence for efficacy of a cleaning agent against norovirus is usually based on studies using feline calicivirus (FCV)—a virus related to norovirus—as a surrogate. However, FCV and norovirus exhibit different physiochemical properties; thus, it is unclear whether inactivation of FCV by a specific cleaning agent reflects efficacy of such solutions against norovirus.

 

Wash laundry thoroughly

Immediately remove and wash clothes or linens that may be contaminated with vomit or stool (feces).

 

You should

 

handle soiled items carefully without agitating them,

wear rubber or disposable gloves while handling soiled items and wash your hands after, and

wash the items with detergent at the maximum available cycle length then machine dry them.

Resources

Updated Norovirus Outbreak Management and Disease Prevention Guidelines (2011)

Guideline for the Prevention and Control of Norovirus Gastroenteritis Outbreaks in Healthcare Settings, 2011

Norovirus Illness: Key Facts [238 KB, 2 pages] (UPDATED SEP 2012)

Norovirus: Facts for Food Handlers [223 KB, 2 pages] (UPDATED SEP 2012)

Norovirus in Healthcare Facilities Fact Sheet [418 KB - 2 pages]

Norovirus in Healthcare Settings

A Norovirus Outbreak Control Resource Toolkit for Healthcare Settings

EPA’s Registered Antimicrobial Products Effective Against Norovirus (Norwalk-like virus) [84 KB - 11 pages]

[cassamanda]

Yep, good ol soap and water. I guess that's probably because it is a virus rather than a bacteria but i will stand corrected if wrong.

I wonder if the ship's airconditioning plant helps to spread the disease.

Hugh

[Katana_Geldar]

Isn't gastro usually passed along in food anyway?

[joejoe 59]

Isn't gastro usually passed along in food anyway?

 

No that would be food poisoning, Yuk:mad:

[Aus Traveller]

I wonder if the ship's airconditioning plant helps to spread the disease.

Hugh

That was my friends' theory when they sprayed the air-con vents with Glen 20.:D

 

I don't think it can be spread by the air-con or whole shiploads of people would come down with it. Noro is high infectious and is spread from person to person either in the air (within a couple of metres) or on something an ill person touches that is then touched by someone else.

 

I often wonder why we bother sanitising our hands when we go into the dining room, and then had to put our hands on our chair to move it in closer to the table. Sometimes the waiters politely do this, but I find they often don't put the chair close enough to the table.

[Pushka]

Dave

In addition to washing your hands, don't use public toilets or eat from the buffet. Other people use the tongs to get their food and they may not have washed their hands, despite the santisers at the door if every eatery on the ship, and pass it on via the tongs and spoons in the buffet. Anything in a public area is a germ agent, so dont use your hands to handle your food, even bread rolls. Use your knife and fork which unfortunately is not natural..

 

We were on another ship last month and many passengers had the virus including 3 out of 4 of my family including myself.

 

If you took the precautions listed above but still got it then doesn't that suggest another source of infection and the buffet is fine?

 

I gather too that if you have Noro there is no way you could conceal it when you board the first time. And that when you do get it you are pretty much self contained to the bathroom. And feel so bad you need medical help. So I'm not sure it is even spread by people running amok when they have it.

 

 

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[GHDPeter]

You can read all about Norovirus here on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norovirus

 

And the US govt site

http://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/about/index.html

[GandM-nq]

I gather too that if you have Noro there is no way you could conceal it when you board the first time. And that when you do get it you are pretty much self contained to the bathroom. And feel so bad you need medical help. So I'm not sure it is even spread by people running amok when they have it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Pushka, you might need to read the links provided by GHDPeter.

 

My understanding from readings is that when you 'catch' noro, you don't actually show symptoms for 1-2 days. And then after symptoms are gone, you are still a carrier of the virus (internally) for 1 to 2 weeks! So those periods of time before and after the sickness manifests itself (e.g. stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting etc) you can still potentially pass on the virus.

[D&Nsailaway]

I've had NV twice, you wouldn't want to get out of bed let alone off the ship

[omb_oz]

I've had NV its pretty nasty and very easily spread

 

From another post on NV in this forum I have read that most

alcohol based sanitisers don't kill Noro Virus & you need to find

a product that contains Benzalkonium Chloride.

 

I will be picking some of that up soon as sail in seven days.

 

The idea of having Norovirus on a ship does not appeal to me at all.

[Guest012]

Question if you have NV, being as it is supposedly highy contagious, is it possible that you do not infect your cabin mate ??

[GandM-nq]

Question if you have NV, being as it is supposedly highy contagious, is it possible that you do not infect your cabin mate ??

 

Yes, it is possible to not infect your cabin mate. Understanding the virus and how it gets around is the key to avoiding it. Link following has some very good info on how it is spread, what to avoid, myths etc.

 

http://www.emetophobiahelp.org/norovirus.html