A Bug on the West Coast

[tejmar]

I was looking over the Cruisejunkie site at illness outbreak page and noticed that the vast majority were on the West Coast. Of the west coast cruises almost all of those were Alaska cruises. I remember two years ago when we took a repositioning cruise to Hawaii out of Vancouver the Veendam had an outbreak. Makes you wonder if pax are picking something up at the Alaska ports or people there don't like to wash their hands. I just thought that was odd. Maybe that's how it works its way back to the Caribbean.

[bdjam]

It’s not that people “there” don’t like to wash their hands because people on the ships that are affected come from all over the place.

[Ula]

Noro was a problem this year in Alaksa, we cruised Alaska this year and no one in our party got sick and the ship was fine also. But I did read an explanation that made a lot of sense.

There can be a lot of different ships in the ports at one time, I noticed that this year and the towns are small. There can be a lot of cross contamination between passengers to different ships.

I do not get paranoid about Noro just practice common sense.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Maybe because there are several cruises in Alaska in the summer.

[MilliesMom]

Norvo can happen on any cruise in any location.

 

We were on the Dawn Princess just a couple of weeks ago to Alaska. They had hand sanitizer liquid outside of each dining room and also at the gangway area before boarding the ship. We were asked to use them before entering the dining area and also before returning to the ship.

 

We also found that they really were going out of their way to keep cabins extremely clean. The stewards wore masks (before of fumes) when cleaning the rooms. They wiped down door handles etc when doing the cabins.

 

I think Princess really is on top of protecting their passengers.

 

We did not have any out break of Norvo when we sailed.

[spongerob]

Long flights, contact with lots of people, and the cooler temperatures probably play as much of a role as anything else. Don't forget that there are a LOT of ships sailing Alaskan routes now. Cruisejunkie's site only lists the incidents, without statistics to see if there is any change in frequency. I don't get the idea that he's a big fan of cruise lines or cruising in general.

[mii]

Besides, as everyone said Princess has a alot of ships in Alaska, also I cannot begin to tell you while we are at the buffet, how many people DID NOT use the hand santiziers. Amazing. Just walked right on by, touching everything. The staff were very good in trying to clean and keep the ships ship-shaped so to speak.

 

Marilyn

[rebeccalouise]

The hand sanitizers are a great idea. On my last Disney cruise every passenger was required to use hand wipes when going to the restaurants, buffets and children's programs. It must have worked because i didn't notice any six children on board.

My son has been sick on Princess, on Norwegian, on Celebrity in the past and I am sure it was from contact with kids in the "Fun Factory". Every ship should make sure the kids use hands wipes! Adults too.

[ewheelock]

If you read on the hand sanitizer bottle you will see (at least the one I just bought) that it kills bacteria and not virus germs. It is good to use them but it is said that the best way to avoid a virus is to wash with good ole soap and water and not touch your mouth or nose.

 

That said, the hand sanitizers must be doing something.

[Tom O.]

Here is the CDC site that tracts these outbreaks:

 

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/GIlist.htm#2006

[tejmar]

I just thought that it was interesting that most of the cases were Alaska cruises. It can't just be that there are a lot of ships there. There are a lot of ships in the Caribbean ports too. And being in close proximity shouldn't be a factor since you have to ingest the virus to get it.

 

Cruise lines are the only ones required to report outbreaks, so it is possible that a specific port could be the source e.g. local restaurant, or gift shop. I doubt that the locals sanitize anything. Personally, I always thought that the menus could be a source. Maybe they sanitize them between seatings, but I doubt it. You figure even if you sanitize your hands before you sit down, you never know who was the last person to touch the menu you're looking at. That's why my wife and I sanitize after looking at the menus and hope that the servers aren't carrying any bugs.

[DrivesLikeMario]

If you read on the hand sanitizer bottle you will see (at least the one I just bought) that it kills bacteria and not virus germs. It is good to use them but it is said that the best way to avoid a virus is to wash with good ole soap and water and not touch your mouth or nose.

 

Good point and that's exactly why some people don't use them. I wash my hands with antibacterial soap (that I bring from home) and water before going to the buffet to eat. I don't touch any buttons, handrails or door knobs.

 

So, please Marilyn, if you see some people not using the sanitizer, don't automatically assume their hands are dirty. :)

[cruzinchris]

DH and I just heard this report earlier this evening and were shocked and saddened about the rationale regarding the lack of media coverage :rolleyes: .

 

There was a reported outbreak of Norovirus in the Saginaw County, Michigan community of Frankenmuth that is a major tourist area in our state. Due to the possible effects on tourism to the area, the outbreak of Norovirus was not reported :confused: . We were actually planning to travel to the lovely Bavarian village this weekend for DH's birthday :eek: .

 

http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-20/1159276886120440.xml&coll=9

 

I'll keep you posted about this developing local story... Think we'll be working in the yard on Saturday :D .

Chris

[dan40]

A few thoughts:

 

Norovirus IS "stomach flu", nothing more. Yes, unpleasant but we have ALL had it before and will most likely get it again.

 

 

Its only "news" when it happens on a cruise ship. It happens MUCH more in schools, also happens in hospitals, malls, theaters, etc. but is not newsworthy when 3-4% get ill a few days after a movie.

 

Norovirus is an nonenveloped virus so its UNAFFECTED by the alcohol [or other ingredients] in hand sanitizers. Alcohol does kill enveloped viruses.

 

2 years ago it was big news because all the outbreaks were on ships sailing out of Fl.

On one ship some 200 plus people got sick. The news did NOT report that 190 of 195 people on the same charter flight were among the ill. Or that they came in the day before and all got sick the day after sailing. TOO SOON to have got it on the ship. They were the obvious carriers but that would have ruined the sensationalism of the story.

 

Hand washing is the BEST thing we can do, period.

 

Stop worrying and enjoy your cruise.

 

Dan

[Cruisin' Chick]

The kids at school know to use the hand sanitizer. In fact, it's often part of a pre-lunchtime ritual in many classes. But many of the adults who go on cruises now didn't grow up with it. So it helps when crew members direct passengers to that machine (when I went on the Sapphire, the crew member there wouldn't hand you the silverwear until you use it).

[GoodAsGold]

Hurrrumph. I live on the West coast and haven't had as much as a cold in who knows how long. All my cruising has been on the West coast. Alaska last summer. The rest to Mexico. I wash my hands, too. :D :p ;)

 

I was looking over the Cruisejunkie site at illness outbreak page and noticed that the vast majority were on the West Coast. Of the west coast cruises almost all of those were Alaska cruises. I remember two years ago when we took a repositioning cruise to Hawaii out of Vancouver the Veendam had an outbreak. Makes you wonder if pax are picking something up at the Alaska ports or people there don't like to wash their hands. I just thought that was odd. Maybe that's how it works its way back to the Caribbean.

[christinelee]

here is a site that tracks it all:

 

http://www.cruisejunkie.com/events.html:eek:

[tejmar]

Hurrrumph. I live on the West coast and haven't had as much as a cold in who knows how long. All my cruising has been on the West coast. Alaska last summer. The rest to Mexico. I wash my hands, too. :D :p ;)

 

Keep up the good work.

[GoodAsGold]

However, I'm not anal or paranoid about it. I rarely use the anti-bacterial hand sanitizers when I'm home. I sometimes keep a small bottle in my car if my hands are sticky or something. I've used provided hand wipes in grocery stores to wipe off the handles on carts. I don't touch things with bare hands in a public restroom. But, I also don't feel that I constantly need to be "germ-free", nor do I find a need to always be washing my hands. I just use common sense.

 

I also don't take vitamins or cold medicines. That includes the preventative preparations that are so popular now. (they're basically just vitamins.) I try to follow my grandmother's advice. She was a registered nurse and she always washed her hands after being in public somewhere. She ate everything in moderation and didn't take supplements. She had all her own teeth and could out-walk me. She had hobbies such as painting or needlework and most of all, she had a perfect green thumb. Grew beautiful roses that I can still smell. She lived into her 90s. Two of her siblings lived to be 100. None of them ever used anti-bacterial hand sanitizers in their lifetime. :p Just good ol common sense.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Originally Posted by GoodAsGold

Hurrrumph. I live on the West coast and haven't had as much as a cold in who knows how long. All my cruising has been on the West coast. Alaska last summer. The rest to Mexico. I wash my hands, too. :D :p ;)