The dual gastro and COVID outbreaks on the Grand Princess cruise ship that docked in Adelaide, Australia, have now been declared over by the onboard doctor.
A spokesperson for Princess Cruises, which operates the shipment, said several passengers had shown symptoms on a previous voyage, but the shipment has since been disinfected and the number of other people with health issues on arrival in Adelaide is said to be in the single digits.
While this is positive news, reports of infectious outbreaks on cruise ships evoke a sense of déjà vu. We probably know about all the high-profile COVID outbreaks that occurred on cruise ships in 2020.
So what is it about cruise ships that can make them such important hotspots?
First, what are the reasons for these epidemics?
Outbreaks of respiratory infections on cruise ships can be caused by a variety of pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID) and influenza viruses. These can be transmitted through respiratory droplets and aerosols that are released when people breathe, talk, or laugh. , coughing, and sneezing.
Historically, troop ships also aided the fatal 1918 flu virus between continents.
Gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruise ships are also well documented. More than 90% of gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruise ships are due to norovirus, which is transmitted from one user to another, and through infected items or infected food or water.
Gastroenteritis can also be caused by other pathogens, such as bacteria in infected food or water.
What’s the risk?
In 2020, about 19% of passengers and crew on the Diamond Princess docked in Japan tested positive for COVID. In the end, about one in 4 passengers and crew of the Ruby Princess docked in Sydney tested positive.
However, COVID is less of a threat these days, and most people have some point of immunity due to a previous vaccine or infection. As it turns out, the outbreak at the Grand Princess was much smaller.
A three-year pre-COVID study of influenza-like illnesses (including fever), acute respiratory syndrome (not requiring fever), and gastroenteritis on cruise ships found that those illnesses were diagnosed in 32. 7%, 15. 9 % and 17% of Americans. passengers and 10. 9%, 80% and 0. 2% of team members with poor health, respectively.
A study of data from 252 cruise ships entering U. S. ports found that the U. S. A U. S. study showed that the overall incidence of acute gastroenterology fell by half between 2006 and 2019. Passenger cases decreased from 32. 5 per 100,000 days to 16. 9, and group cases decreased from 13. 5 per 100,000 days to 5. 2. This decrease is likely due to a combination of improvements in hygiene and sanitation standards.
The risk of contracting gastroenteritis is particularly higher on larger ships and longer voyages. This is because the longer you are in close contact with other people, the greater the risk of exposure to an infectious dose of viruses or bacteria.
Why are cruise ships hotbeds of infection?
On cruise ships, other people tend to cram into tight spaces for long periods of time. These have dining rooms and social events in casinos, bars, and theaters.
The threat increases when the environment is noisy, as more droplets and aerosols are released when other people laugh, shout, or communicate loudly.
Passengers may come from various countries, which could bring variants from other parts of the world. The flu, which is seasonal (late fall to early spring) on land, can occur at any time aboard a cruise ship if it carries foreign passengers or calls to foreign ports.
Human behavior also contributes to risk. Some passengers interviewed following gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruise ships indicated that they were in poor health when they boarded the ship, or that they did not yet disclose it because they did not need to pay for a doctor or be forced to do so on their own. -Isolate themselves, or they thought they did. It’s not serious.
Those who got sick were more likely than those who didn’t think they should think hand hygiene and isolation weren’t effective in preventing infection transmission, and they were less likely to wash their hands after using the bathroom. Fecal contamination is a primary source of norovirus transmission, this is a cause for concern.
While there are a la carte dining options on board, many other people opt for a buffet option. In my personal experience, food tongs are treated by several other people, some of whom probably wouldn’t have washed their hands.
What can help?
Australia’s Department of Health and Aged Care recommends that cruise lines inspire crew and passengers to be up to date with their flu and COVID vaccinations, and inspire anyone who falls ill to stay in their cabin, or at least to crowded spaces and wear a mask. . in public.
They also proposed that cruise ships have a plan to identify and engage any outbreaks, adding testing and treatment capacity, and talking to passengers and crew about how they can reduce the risk of transmission.
All passengers and crew report any symptoms of infectious disease and practice smart hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, such as covering your mouth when coughing or sneezing, disposing of used tissues, and washing or disinfecting your hands after touching your mouth. or the nose.
Thea van de Mortel is a lecturer at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Griffith University, Australia.
The Conversation is an independent, nonprofit source of information, analysis, and observation from education experts.
Very good article that briefly and undeniably explains the dangers and challenges similar to infectious diseases on cruise ships. Unfortunately, the challenge is much greater than many people think; in a way, it’s the result of corporations downplaying and hiding the dangers and passengers hiding their infections so they can board ships. This was given a lot of attention during the pandemic, but long before that it was a huge challenge.