Why Novo?

[donaldsc]

Lets assume hypothetically that you could take a shot that would give you immunity to Noro. Considering what is going on with regard to measles, how many people would decide not to get the shot because they were irrationally afraid of getting a side effect?

 

DON

[A Sixth?]

I see that the Equinox has a novo outbreak and was wondering why this problem has been going on for years. Why can't they find out how these outbreaks keep happening? It seems like a solution would be better than having to scrub done these big ships constantly. There must be some mighty smart people that could find out how this keeps affecting the cruise industry, it's been going on for many years. We are on the Equinox in April and I hope it's clean by then.

J.

 

Some people are so dumb they don't think vaccinations work towards better health. How are you going to fix stupid? :(

Edited February 24, 2015 by A Sixth?

[budbo]

I was on Equinox last week when the virus hit, and I must commend Celebrity on their ability to keep it contained. Their vigilance was amazing...every available crew member did their best to keep the non-affected passengers healthy & happy. And while many were not happy about being able to fill their own plates & coffee cups at the Oceanview Café, it was a minor inconvenience and much appreciated by most other passengers.

And after seeing the library books removed, Bibles, drinking glasses & other marketing material removed from our cabins and the internet café closed down on the last day, I had to wonder: can we not catch the virus in the casino or the gym???

 

We were also on the last Equinox cruise (Hi Susan!), and also were impressed by the cleaning efforts of the crew. In the internet cafe they always have containers of antibacterial wipes to clean the keyboards before using....maybe making those available in the casino to wipe down the slots before pushing any buttons would be a good idea. In the public bathrooms they had crew members assigned to continually sanitize the toilet & sink areas. Each shop/theater/restaurant had crew members squirting sanitizer on the hands of everyone entering, and all surfaces in the public areas were continually being sprayed/wiped with sanitizer. The Equinox crew really seemed to jump on this outbreak quickly....I honestly don't know what else they could have done without severely limiting the activities of the passengers.

 

Many are quick to blame the crew and the cruise lines for illnesses aboard ship, but I feel that in most cases it's probably caused by thoughtless actions of passengers. The Equinox has a regular video playing on one of the channels in the cabins about washing hands and spreading germs....I had that "wash your hands" song stuck in my head for days, but still you see people using the washroom and not washing their hands.

[tercar]

All it takes is one lazy ship employee who handles food after using the restroom and not washing hands effectively!!!!! ONE!!!

 

 

Also ONE lazy passenger not washing their hands effectively or not at all ! As I've seen many a time! Yes that's all it takes.

[surebeatssailing]

We were also on the Equinox with noro & we too commend the crew for all of their extra efforts to keep us healthy. Even officers were wiping down hand rails!

[donaldsc]

Some people are so dumb they don't think vaccinations work towards better health. How are you going to fix stupid? :(

 

Has anyone devised a vaccine to prevent stupid? Would we be able to convince the people who would need the vaccine to take the anti-stupid vaccine? I doubt it.

 

DON

[A Sixth?]

Has anyone devised a vaccine to prevent stupid? Would we be able to convince the people who would need the vaccine to take the anti-stupid vaccine? I doubt it.

 

DON

 

:p:p:D True

[flames9]

Many people "wash" their hands, but do not do it properly. I think that was the first think we were taughgt in nursing school labs--how to properly wash ones hands,lol Sounds silly, but very few do it properly.

[varoo]

Replace as many surfaces as possible with Copper products - research indicates that it kills the norovirus.

http://www.southampton.ac.uk/mediacentre/news/2013/sep/13_162.shtml

Tell that to Perry Grant.

He should change his routine and insist that people have copper surfaces in their homes instead of outdated stainless steel and granite. :D

 

[phoenix_dream]

Lets assume hypothetically that you could take a shot that would give you immunity to Noro. Considering what is going on with regard to measles, how many people would decide not to get the shot because they were irrationally afraid of getting a side effect?

 

DON

 

It's actually not a hypothetical. There is in fact a vaccine under development right now which should be available in a few years if tests prove it successful.

 

A few interesting articles:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/267086.php

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-06-25/vomiting-bug-vaccine-seen-as-shot-in-the-arm-for-cruises

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/10/07/new-experimental-vaccine-may-treat-common-strains-norovirus/

[johhnnyt]

I love reading 'wash your hands.' I'm trained in delivering the food safety qualification and one of things I used to do is give my students a powder to wash their hands with. I'd then use a UV lamp over their hands to see where they hadn't cleaned them properly. Most of the time, in between the fingers was missed.

 

Did you know you need to lather then scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds? Then use a paper towel to dry them. I hate seeing hand dryers as moisture and warmth is the ideal condition for bacteria to spread.

 

I've used the same exercise regarding radioative material contamination control where we use a UV visible powder as our substitute contamination source just to show people how easy it is to spread.

 

100% right about soap and warm water being the right way, hand sanitizer is convenient but not the primary way you prevent it. I did a thing with the Navy a few years ago regarding how they prevent Noro, and because they REQUIRE people to report symptoms, where on cruise ships I think people are a bit more hesitant since they feel they might get quarantined, or get a medical bill, it's a whole different ball of wax.

 

Even supervisors are told to turn in guys/gals that are showing any symptoms.

The Navy can't afford the risk of a ship getting Noro so much more proactive rather than reactive with preventive medicine technicians inspecting several times a day.