Norovirus

[FLAHAM]

Having been on two NCL cruises with norovirus outbreaks, I thought these tips on dealing with norovirus in the home might be of interest:

 

https://parenting.nytimes.com/childrens-health/how-to-break-the-norovirus-barf-cycle?algo=identity&fellback=false&imp_id=121803056&imp_id=577813985&action=click&module=Smarter Living&pgtype=Homepage

Edited December 20, 2019 by FLAHAM

[hladygirl]

All I can say is wash, wash, wash your hands. Noroviris need to get into your gastrointestinal tract to infect you. Mostly caused by eating without washing your hands thoroughly right before eating. Keep your hands away from your mouth without washing hands first.

[luv2kroooz]

17 minutes ago, hladygirl said:

All I can say is wash, wash, wash your hands. Noroviris need to get into your gastrointestinal tract to infect you. Mostly caused by eating without washing your hands thoroughly right before eating. Keep your hands away from your mouth without washing hands first.

Great advice. Wash your hands frequently with hot water...preferably after you get your food from the buffet but before you begin to enjoy your meal. I wish I could get the water hotter in many of the public restrooms. Many times it is just lukewarm.

Edited December 20, 2019 by blcruising

[Roadsofa]

Something else to consider that I have read somewhere... cell phone. When was the last time you wiped your cell phone down? Think of how often you touch/handle your phone, where you place it, what the circumstances are in which you use it? Willing to guess many carry/handle phone for communication/pics  (all of the pictorial reviews people post) and have not/did not wipe phone down before handling and then eating. 

 

 

[casofilia]

If you are on board a ship and there is an outbreak of Noro then don't eat in the buffet eat in the Main 
Dining Room.  The MDR staff are well trained to ensure that Noro is not transferred there.  It is far more difficult for them to do that in the buffet.

Take all the precautions you can; wash your hands with soap and hot water and walk to the MDR.  Use the sanitizer to just refresh your defences, it is NOT the ultimate defence.

[ziggyuk]

6 hours ago, hladygirl said:

All I can say is wash, wash, wash your hands. Noroviris need to get into your gastrointestinal tract to infect you. Mostly caused by eating without washing your hands thoroughly right before eating. Keep your hands away from your mouth without washing hands first.

 

And prey the people preparing your food are also practising wash, wash, wash.

[coscab]

I must have told 1000 people on our last cruise "don't touch the hand rails" when we were using the stairs, if you need to use them for balance then maybe you can carry a tissue or something to slip between your hand and the rail. 

We use our knuckles to press the elevator buttons, and I use disinfectant wipes where ever I think necessary, some might think being overly cautious spoils a cruise but we have never found it to be a problem and so far we have not gotten sick on over 20 cruises.

[Mike_DeA]

9 hours ago, casofilia said:

If you are on board a ship and there is an outbreak of Noro then don't eat in the buffet eat in the Main 
Dining Room.  The MDR staff are well trained to ensure that Noro is not transferred there.  It is far more difficult for them to do that in the buffet.

Take all the precautions you can; wash your hands with soap and hot water and walk to the MDR.  Use the sanitizer to just refresh your defences, it is NOT the ultimate defence.

 

Does hot water kill norovirus?

 

My understanding is that washing your hands doesn't kill anything, you're just removing the germs from your hands, which is why the rubbing and rinsing is so important.

Edited December 20, 2019 by Mike_DeA

[bob brown]

9 minutes ago, Mike_DeA said:

Does hot water kill norovirus?

 

Probably only if it was over 180°F...too hot to wash your hands in.

[Mike_DeA]

1 minute ago, bob brown said:

Probably only if it was over 180°F...too hot to wash your hands in.

 

That's what I was thinking, I mean boiling water kills a lot of germs, but you can't handle it on your skin without serious damage. 

[casofilia]

If it was taken that I implied that washing with hot water killed Noro that was not my intention.  The idea of soap and hot water is that that is more effective at cleaning the hand than cold water is.     The advice to us was 20 seconds with the soap rubbing well and then wash off with the hot water.

[RedwingHockeyFan]

Don't eat anything you, or anyone else, touched with your hands.  Even after washing they can become contaminated after touching something.

[casofilia]

Don't eat anything you, or anyone else, touched with your hands. 

 

What; no bread rolls with soup; no bread, butter and jam with breakfast!!!

[Firepath]

4 hours ago, coscab said:

I must have told 1000 people on our last cruise "don't touch the hand rails" when we were using the stairs, if you need to use them for balance then maybe you can carry a tissue or something to slip between your hand and the rail. 

We use our knuckles to press the elevator buttons, and I use disinfectant wipes where ever I think necessary, some might think being overly cautious spoils a cruise but we have never found it to be a problem and so far we have not gotten sick on over 20 cruises.

Ha! We use our elbows. Yep, it may look weird but we're not touching everyone else's germs.

[Mike_DeA]

45 minutes ago, casofilia said:

If it was taken that I implied that washing with hot water killed Noro that was not my intention.  The idea of soap and hot water is that that is more effective at cleaning the hand than cold water is.     The advice to us was 20 seconds with the soap rubbing well and then wash off with the hot water.

 

Gotcha.  I use warm/lukewarm water, I'm not going to use hot water though.  It dries out my hands quickly and it's uncomfortable given I'm constantly washing my hands. 

 

 

5 hours ago, coscab said:

I must have told 1000 people on our last cruise "don't touch the hand rails" when we were using the stairs, if you need to use them for balance then maybe you can carry a tissue or something to slip between your hand and the rail. 

We use our knuckles to press the elevator buttons, and I use disinfectant wipes where ever I think necessary, some might think being overly cautious spoils a cruise but we have never found it to be a problem and so far we have not gotten sick on over 20 cruises.

 

I think holding onto handrails is fine if you need to, but just don't touch your face area before washing your hands.... There are germs everywhere, on and off ships, so that's the key takeaway. 

 

I also use knuckle for pressing elevator buttons, it's just become a habit. 

[cementhands]

16 hours ago, FLAHAM said:

Having been on two NCL cruises with norovirus outbreaks, I thought these tips on dealing with norovirus in the home might be of interest:

 

https://parenting.nytimes.com/childrens-health/how-to-break-the-norovirus-barf-cycle?algo=identity&fellback=false&imp_id=121803056&imp_id=577813985&action=click&module=Smarter Living&pgtype=Homepage

Constantly washing our hands

. Avoid buffet.

Or be first in buffet. Zinc and vitamin c.

Drink water.

Try and avoid the hot tub as some people parking it in their for hours while continuing to consume tons of alcohol.

Do the math- what goes in has to come back out!

[bob brown]

15 minutes ago, cementhands said:

Try and avoid the hot tub as some people parking it in their for hours while continuing to consume tons of alcohol.

Do the math- what goes in has to come back out!

That's TMI...too much information...😊

[RedwingHockeyFan]

I'm pretty sure that Noro is passed thru the feces and not urine.  I'm hoping no one is floating Baby Ruth's in the Hot Tubs but there would be enough chlorine to kill the Noro.

[FLAHAM]

On my NCL cruises with norovirus outbreaks, I was impressed by crew members wiping down elevators, banisters and public-area bathrooms at least hourly (during daytime, anyway) as well as measures taken in the restaurants and buffet.  I know these measures can't preclude me from getting sick (although I didn't), but they probably represent a reasonable balance between avoiding illness and still enjoying the voyage.  I give NCL high marks in this regard. 

[casofilia]

@FLAHAM

 

Exactly the same on Princess, the staff we saw were working their butts off and doing an excellent job.

[cementhands]

You know the threat is real when salt and pepper shakers are removed from MDR. 

[casofilia]

Remember that Noro isn't on board waiting to appear to get passengers sick.  Someone has to take it on board and then spread it about.   In our case someone picked it up in Barcelona where, it seems, it is endemic and took it on board.

[fshagan]

On 12/20/2019 at 10:23 AM, Mike_DeA said:

Gotcha.  I use warm/lukewarm water, I'm not going to use hot water though.  It dries out my hands quickly and it's uncomfortable given I'm constantly washing my hands.

 

If you're trying to kill the virus you have to get water above 140°F which will burn you, so don't worry about using hot water. You couldn't stand the temp high enough to make a difference. None of the recommendations from the CDC mention the temp of the water. Soap and water doesn't kill the virus; it makes your hands slippery and the action of rubbing your hands under a stream of water slides the virus off your hands and into the drain.

 

The CDC does say hand sanitizers are good but not if used as a substitute for washing your hands. But as an adjunct to washing your hands when you can, they are effective. The hand sanitizers used on NCL are formulated to actually kill the virus (unlike most of the hand sanitizers that don't contain alcohol); the problem is nothing is 100% effective, and without wiping the sanitizer off or rinsing it off the dead virus and live virus remains on your hands.

 

But to kill whatever virus particles you've picked up between the sink and the buffet, yeah, use the hand sanitizer.

[gooch47]

I've always wondered about the silverware in the dining rooms.  You see your servers picking up used silverware and then laying down fresh with those same hands.  Wouldn't that transfer the virus?

[ColeThornton]

2 minutes ago, gooch47 said:

I've always wondered about the silverware in the dining rooms.  You see your servers picking up used silverware and then laying down fresh with those same hands.  Wouldn't that transfer the virus?

 

 

If you think about it there are about a gazillion and one ways it could be transferred.