Μα καλα, βρωμικο τους ταιζουνε?

[Nick the Greek]

In what could turn out to be one of the worst cases of norovirus outbreak on a cruise ship, up to 700 people have taken ill onboard a Carnival vessel during a transatlantic crossing.

Although the exact nature of the mass illness has not as yet been determined, the prevalence of instances of norovirus onboard cruise vessels would make it a likely suspect. Carnival said on Wednesday that 556 passengers and 154 crew members reported flu-like symptoms within days of a 16-day cruise from Rome to Miami onboard the 110,320-gt Carnival Liberty (built 2005). The ship had a total of 2,804 passengers and 1,166 crew members onboard for the trip to Fort Lauderdale.

The outbreak began within 24 hours of the vessel leaving the Italian port with hundreds of people quickly reporting symptoms of illness lasting between one and three days. Carnival said that crew onboard instigated procedures to try to contain the rapid spread of the disease including isolation of infected passengers and thorough cleaning. As a result instances of reported illness have decreased dramatically indicating the virus is under control.

Nobody, however, needed to be evacuated from the vessel which continued its voyage and was due to be boarded by three environmental health inspectors to try to ascertain the cause of the outbreak.

The Liberty was due to set sail again on Sunday but Carnival has pushed its next scheduled sailing back to Tuesday with further delays possible if the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) deems further disinfection necessary.

The incident is likely to leave Carnival red faced after another one of its vessels failed a health inspection earlier this month. A luncheon for marketing executives due to be held onboard the 86,000-gt Carnival Legend (built 2002) in Florida was halted after inspectors failed the vessel mostly on food-related deficiencies.

The Panama-flagged Carnival Liberty was built at Fincantieri and can hold up to 2,974 passengers. It is classed by Lloyd’s Register with insurance cover with the West of England P&I Club.

Πηγη η Tradewinds