Cruise ships get bug outbreak guide
Updated on 22 July 2007
A guide for tackling a highly infectious vomiting bug on board cruise ships has been compiled by health experts.
Norovirus causes sickness and diarrhoea and is easily transmitted in confined places, such as hospitals, schools and cruise ships.
The bug has struck thousands of people enjoying cruise holidays worldwide in recent years. It also infects between 600,000 and one million people within the community in the UK every year.
Now, the Health Protection Agency (HPA), in conjunction with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the cruise industry, has developed a guide on preventing and managing outbreaks of the virus.
It says each cruise ship should have a written "outbreak control plan" which should be followed if the bug strikes.
Details on cleaning areas with detergent, followed by disinfectant, are also outlined in the guide.
Before passengers embark on their cruise, they should be given a precautionary letter outlining what to do if they feel unwell, together with a health questionnaire, it said. According to the HPA, Norovirus can be difficult to control because it survives in the environment, on surfaces or objects.
The infection usually lasts a couple of days, with symptoms including projectile vomiting, diarrhoea, high temperature, headaches and aching limbs. There is no specific treatment for the bug, but patients are advised to drink plenty of fluids.
The HPA's chief executive, Professor Pat Troop, said: "The aim was to produce straightforward and practical advice to discourage the introduction of infection to cruise ships in the first instance and to help the industry and public health authorities manage outbreaks in a consistent manner when they do occur."
William Gibbons, director of the Passenger Shipping Association, said of the guide: "It means that all parties who are required to deal with an outbreak of infection will have immediate access to sound and practical advice that will minimise the impact for passengers and crew alike."
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