Ebola

[m*u*g*]

Okay so I have been checking daily to see if anyone has posted on this. I remember from previous cruises there were many employees from West Africa. Is RCCL still getting employees from there? Very scary because it wouldn't be hard to pass this around on a ship. Incubation period is up to 21 days.

 

You can't pass the virus during incuabtion period. But, if someone is on ship when they show symptoms, that's another story.

 

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/guinea/index.html?s_cid=cdc_homepage_whatsnew_001

 

My son was planning to leave on Sat to Ghana for study abroad but NYU cancelled it. Media hype has stirred everyone up. I was not concerned about sending him and would have if they had not cancelled.

Edited August 14, 2014 by m*u*g*

[Folk Singer]

Ebola is extremely hard to spread and contract with the cleanliness of western civilizations.... Dont worry about it

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

agree.

[Gayle V]

I meant nothing bad towards anyone. I was just wondering if Royal Caribbean or other cruise lines had stopped hiring employees from that area during this outbreak (as a precaution). I am a healthcare worker, so yes, these things do cross my mind. I have no intentions of wearing gloves, a mask, or a gown on my cruise in September, it was just a question. The way this outbreak is spreading, CDC and WHO are certain it's going to spread. The other things we can catch, like norovirus, are yucky but do not carry a 90% death rate. I work in a hospital so being exposed to most things doesn't bother me. Ebola on the other hand, scares the day lights out of me.

 

Hello Ladymom, I too am an RN and totally agree with you. Anyone who is complacent about a killer like Ebola is burying their head in the sand. No, it won't keep me away from cruising, but it's still a thought:

 

Too many people act like there's some kind of guarantee, that if you use proper precautions, then you definitely won't contract a disease, (whether that be HIV or Noro or Ebola) . Sorry to say, there is not. Look up the actual percentages of how certain diseases, liked HIV are caught. There is greater than 10 % of HIV cases where they cannot ID the source. How can you say a certain route is definitely NOT the source if you can't prove what actually is? Same applies for Ebola or any other communicable disease.

 

And discounting personal experience reports, like that of the woman who caught it just taking vitals, would be foolish. Yes, I know that blaming the victim makes people feel safer, (People like to think : she didn't wear gloves, so it's her fault. If I do what I should, I'll be safe. ) But just think: If she caught it merely by touching the patient's sweat, then who's to say you can't catch it from being crammed in a crowded elevator, or island shuttle. Your arm encounters the sweaty arm of the fellow next to you.....etc. etc. You can't say with certainty, what cannot happen. Every new patient, every new contact expands the knowledge about this disease.

 

Ebola is scarey as he11. Even contracting HIV isn't going to kill you as quickly.

Edited August 14, 2014 by Gayle V

[Gayle V]

"The Spanish priest contracted Ebola at the Saint Joseph Hospital in the Liberian capital Monrovia where he worked with infected patients."

 

So far I haven't seen any reports of westerners dying of ebola who weren't directly caring for infected patients or family members.

 

It's concerning that a health care worker would be so unduly worried about contracting ebola from casual contact with someone who is from a country impacted by it.

 

Missing the point. The point is that only healthcare workers and family caregivers are catching it....UNTIL the day it's not only them. That is the point of the precautions.

 

And don't put down good healthy fear. If healthcare workers weren't frightened of this killer, it would have spread worldwide by now. Its the fear of this killer, and of other diseases that keeps everyone safe.

Edited August 14, 2014 by Gayle V

[BamaGuy44]

http://news.yahoo.com/ebola-fear-factor-threatens-dampen-african-business-buzz-150631846.html;_ylt=A0LEVyHu6.xTBzMA6knBGOd_

 

This may answer my question. Looks like they are shutting down schools and government offices as well as closing the borders.

 

Wait, I'm confused as to what exactly you're worried about. Obviously it's a big concern for people living in West Africa. But your original post was about it getting passed around a cruise ship. As you know those are 2 vastly different things.

[Ladymom30]

Wait, I'm confused as to what exactly you're worried about. Obviously it's a big concern for people living in West Africa. But your original post was about it getting passed around a cruise ship. As you know those are 2 vastly different things.

 

My question was "is rccl still recruiting employees from west Africa? If so, are the imposing a 21 day quarantine? It is a perfectly reasonable question.

[Ladymom30]

Missing the point. The point is that only healthcare workers and family caregivers are catching it....UNTIL the day it's not only them. That is the point of the precautions.

 

And don't put down good healthy fear. If healthcare workers weren't frightened of this killer, it would have spread worldwide by now. Its the fear of this killer, and of other diseases that keeps everyone safe.

 

Exactly Gayle.. Thank you. And if it was really so HARD to catch why are they trying to find everyone in contact with the Nigerian doctor? Sounds like they are worried about how easily this particular strain is spreading. And I don't know about you but to me it looks like plain old universal precautions aren't working. Why else are they using hazmat suits and still contracting it?

[BeachChik]

My question was "is rccl still recruiting employees from west Africa? If so, are the imposing a 21 day quarantine? It is a perfectly reasonable question.

 

If you are truly concerned you need to reach out to the cruise line. How would anyone here know what countries they are recruiting in and if they are imposing an incubation period. And quite honestly I doubt they would tell you if they were. So if you are going to panic, going on a cruise is probably not a good idea.

[Ladymom30]

If you are truly concerned you need to reach out to the cruise line. How would anyone here know what countries they are recruiting in and if they are imposing an incubation period. And quite honestly I doubt they would tell you if they were. So if you are going to panic, going on a cruise is probably not a good idea.

 

That was my next step BeachChik. The only reason I posted on here was because normally I find all the info I need by reading the boards.

[iheartbda]

Not that it is of concern, but since the statement was made, are there that many employees from west Africa onboard?

 

While cruise ships used to be registered in Liberia, I am not familiar with any ship having 'many employees from West Africa.' All cruise ships have withdrawn from Liberian registry.

 

While there are many South Africans with the spa operator Steiner, I have not noticed too many other African nations represented among the crew, except from the island nation of Mauritius.

 

I guess they could be represented in the 'back of house' crew and I have just not personally had contact with them.

 

Mentioning South Africans is not really relevent to the discussion. You DO realize the difference between South Africans and Afrikaners as well as other ethnic groups, don't you?;)

[MADflyer]

Umm... confused by the responses. My post is stating that in no way should this be of concern with regards to a RCI cruise. This is posted on a RCI thread.

 

My posts were only mentioning that RCI does have staff from South Africa, Mauritius and Cape Verde and not staff from the affected areas as proposed by the OP.

 

The point with the article from Spain was how a very serious health threat could be dealt with in a responsible manner.

Edited August 14, 2014 by MADflyer

[MADflyer]

...and just what is the "back of house" crew? :confused:

 

Back of house crew are crew that have no contact with guests.

 

Cabin stewards are now assisted by 'cleaners' under RCI's new system.

 

This can be positions working with provisions, cleaning, baggage transport and 'untrained' cooks that do functional jobs that are generally untrained labor. Whereas a chef or trained cook would take on more 'sophisticated' food preparation tasks.

[BamaGuy44]

Exactly Gayle.. Thank you. And if it was really so HARD to catch why are they trying to find everyone in contact with the Nigerian doctor? Sounds like they are worried about how easily this particular strain is spreading. And I don't know about you but to me it looks like plain old universal precautions aren't working. Why else are they using hazmat suits and still contracting it?

 

It's EXTREMELY dangerous for the doctors treating infected patients, and their familes. Nobody would dispute that. Even in a hazmat suit, it's dangerous when you take it off. One small mistake sanitizing it can be fatal. Very scary. For the doctors. For the rest of us not so much.

 

I knew the hazmat suit thing would rile people up, because people have a knee jerk reaction and think ZOMG even a hazmat suit can't stop it!!

[Deptacon]

Stop calling it a crisis. It's 900 people in Africa. 600,000 plus have died of Malaria in Africa this year. It's not a crisis. CNN just loves to hype things.

 

Case in Point....24 Hours News Media is polluting the minds of America

[newgrange]

Not sure what others intend to do on their cruise, but I certainly won't be engaging in any activities that would expose me to Ebola. Much higher chance of getting a smack of a car on a port visit, or on the way to join the cruise.

[Ladymom30]

It's EXTREMELY dangerous for the doctors treating infected patients, and their familes. Nobody would dispute that. Even in a hazmat suit, it's dangerous when you take it off. One small mistake sanitizing it can be fatal. Very scary. For the doctors. For the rest of us not so much.

 

I knew the hazmat suit thing would rile people up, because people have a knee jerk reaction and think ZOMG even a hazmat suit can't stop it!!

 

I really resent that you think I brought up this subject and hazmat suits to "rile" people up. Yes it is dangerous for medical professionals and their families... It is dangerous for EVERYBODY. This is not norovirus we are talking about. You won't poop and puke a few days and go home. You will feel bad, bleed from your body orifices, then 90% chance you will DIE! I am not saying to live your life in fear, I am saying that IF my room attendant is from West Africa or has traveled there recently has he or she been medically evaluated and quarantined for 21 days. If not, we ALL should be worried. Now if you feel the need to make snide or condescending remarks, do whatever makes you feel better. I do not believe news stations and government are conspiring to kill us all. I simply want to make sure we all take precautions to keep us safe.

[BND]

A few years ago it was people afraid to cruise to Haiti because of Cholera, then it was the mosquito born viruses (by the way,all of these can kill you too) and now this.... There are literally hundreds of infectious diseases that can kill you but does it stop you from living your life? Even in the impacted areas, the percentages of people infected is very, very, very, very small.

 

And, just because someone works in the healthcare field does not make them an expert in diseases. Wish we had an infectious disease doctor (expert) who would post here.

 

The panic I'm reading on here is nuts.

 

We were in Labadee two months after the earthquake (yes we went ashore and risked it lol) and people actually had cancelled their cruises due to fear of cholera, yet from everything I've seen, no one got sick who was there on a cruise.

 

How does anyone leave their house if they're so concerned because the odds of them not making it back home alive are much higher than ever catching Ebola (or any other exotic infectious disease)? And this is hardly the first outbreak, it's considered the largest, but it's not the first.

Edited August 14, 2014 by BND

[aloha43]

Just stay home. Lock your screen doors, and hide under your bed. And stop telling people you are a healthcare worker. Even if it's true, statements like "wondering if Royal Caribbean or other cruise lines had stopped hiring employees from that area during this outbreak" make health care workers sound stupid.

 

No. It doesn't make health care workers sound stupid. Wanting to be aware of whats going on is not stupid. NOT A BIT.

 

Some people can be so belittling.......

 

Being fearful of this outbreak is smart. Thank you OP.

[BamaGuy44]

I really resent that you think I brought up this subject and hazmat suits to "rile" people up. Yes it is dangerous for medical professionals and their families... It is dangerous for EVERYBODY. This is not norovirus we are talking about. You won't poop and puke a few days and go home. You will feel bad, bleed from your body orifices, then 90% chance you will DIE! I am not saying to live your life in fear, I am saying that IF my room attendant is from West Africa or has traveled there recently has he or she been medically evaluated and quarantined for 21 days. If not, we ALL should be worried. Now if you feel the need to make snide or condescending remarks, do whatever makes you feel better. I do not believe news stations and government are conspiring to kill us all. I simply want to make sure we all take precautions to keep us safe.

 

Sorry I wasn't meaning to be condescending, I didn't mean to say you were trying to rile people up. I meant that when I read the news story mentioning the doctor was wearing a hazmat suit when he was treating patients, I knew people would get riled up and start thinking even a hazmat suit can't stop the virus or something, because people get their news in headlines and sound bites these days. (people in general, not you) My bad for not being more clear.

 

Anyway I understand the symptoms of ebola are quite horrific and deadly if you get infected. But there's a difference between how awful the symptoms are and how likely you are to catch it. The danger level is determined by how likely it is to spread. Ebola is not dangerous to me or you, because we have basically 0 chance of getting infected, that's my point. I'm sure you disagree and that's fine.

 

Quarantining employees for weeks would be a complete overreaction IMO, given the facts we know about the disease and how it spreads. They may end up doing it at some point just to make people feel better but it won't decrease anyone's risk.

[aloha43]

 

Quarantining employees for weeks would be a complete overreaction IMO, given the facts we know about the disease and how it spreads. They may end up doing it at some point just to make people feel better but it won't decrease anyone's risk.

 

Why wouldn't quarantining decrease anyone's risk? Of course quarantining decreases risk.

[BamaGuy44]

Why wouldn't quarantining decrease anyone's risk? Of course quarantining decreases risk.

 

Well the amount it decreased the risk wouldn't be 0, but close to it. Certainly not enough to warrant keeping people from working and earning a living for weeks at a time. But technically it would decrease it by some amount I guess.

 

It's not contagious until symptoms start. I guess it's possible someone with active hemorraghic fever could walk around the ship and clean peoples' rooms, but if you've seen any footage of the poor souls who have it, it doesn't seem likely.

[iheartbda]

Umm... confused by the responses. My post is stating that in no way should this be of concern with regards to a RCI cruise. This is posted on a RCI thread.

 

My posts were only mentioning that RCI does have staff from South Africa, Mauritius and Cape Verde and not staff from the affected areas as proposed by the OP.

 

The point with the article from Spain was how a very serious health threat could be dealt with in a responsible manner.

 

Some have no idea about geogrphy, all they hear is Africa and they now could possibly be afraid of having any spa treatments. Just trying to clarify any misconceptions about South Africans.

[Ladymom30]

Well the amount it decreased the risk wouldn't be 0, but close to it. Certainly not enough to warrant keeping people from working and earning a living for weeks at a time. But technically it would decrease it by some amount I guess.

 

It's not contagious until symptoms start. I guess it's possible someone with active hemorraghic fever could walk around the ship and clean peoples' rooms, but if you've seen any footage of the poor souls who have it, it doesn't seem likely.

 

If they were to quarantine for 21 days it would drastically reduce any risk. I did read that you are not contagious until you show symptoms, but I am not sure I buy that. With almost every other virus you are most contagious right before you show symptoms. I don't claim to be an expert on ebola, but I do know for a FACT I don't want to be exposed to it. I want us all to be safe and enjoy our vacations. Trust me if a crew member or passenger from our ship becomes sick, they will quarantine all of us.

[jcl410]

I did read that you are not contagious until you show symptoms, but I am not sure I buy that. ...

 

 

Do you trust what the CDC is saying? They say it's not contagious until symptoms show. Check it out:

 

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/guinea/qa.html

 

The site also mentions that travelers leaving the effected areas are being screened. *If*RCI has any returning crew from the currently effected countries I have to believe that the medical staff will keep a close eye on them, and isolate them at the first sign of a symptom (fever,rash).

 

Some else mentioned South Africa, Afrikaans, and ethnicity... Only one of those 3 factors is important.... location. There are no cases of Ebola in South Africa. No matter their skin color, people living there don't have it.

 

Aloha,

 

John

[Ladymom30]

Do you trust what the CDC is saying? They say it's not contagious until symptoms show. Check it out:

 

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/guinea/qa.html

 

The site also mentions that travelers leaving the effected areas are being screened. *If*RCI has any returning crew from the currently effected countries I have to believe that the medical staff will keep a close eye on them, and isolate them at the first sign of a symptom (fever,rash).

 

Some else mentioned South Africa, Afrikaans, and ethnicity... Only one of those 3 factors is important.... location. There are no cases of Ebola in South Africa. No matter their skin color, people living there don't have it.

 

Aloha,

 

John

 

Most of the time with a virus you are contagious a day or so before showing symptoms. This discussion has NOTHING to with race.