SENIORS ON CRUISES WATCH OUT!

I received sad news this morning. An elderly friend of mine had died. She became ill while on a cruise. The official cause will probably be listed as “congestive heart failure” or something similar. But although that explanation will be much more acceptable to the cruise line, it is not the whole story.

First, a bit of background. My friend is (I typed “is” as I am still having trouble using the past tense..)..was in her 80’s. Like many people of that age, she had a few chronic conditions, one being arthritis, and another, a “weak” heart. But she had never had a heart attack and her doctor in the UK considered her well enough to go on the cruise with her caregiver.

I was told that she really enjoyed the trip up until day 22 of this 44 day cruise. At that point there was an outbreak of food poisoning on the ship. She became very ill, dehydrated, and had to be sent to a hospital in Jamaica, which was the closest port. Several of the passengers ended up there, especially those who were over 60. At least one died soon after she was hospitalized in Jamaica.

Along with a few of the others, my friend was confined to the intensive care unit. After a few days she seemed to be better, but because she was still weak and considered at risk, she was sent to a hospital in Florida, and then to one in England, where she now lived. She died there.

If you have been following this blog, you will know that food poisoning outbreaks on cruise ships are common, with the majority of them caused by norovirus – a highly contagious group of viruses which often infects both passengers and crew. Usually an outbreak starts through contaminated food (perhaps contaminated by a crew member), but you can also catch it directly from someone who is ill (by taking care of them, using the same eating utensils or even from sprayed vomit), and, from surfaces.

Most people recover after 1-3 thoroughly miserable days. However, passengers who are older frequently develop severe dehydration which can aggravate or lead to other serious conditions as seemed to have occurred in my friend’s case. It is not unusual for relapses to happen a couple of weeks or so after the food poisoning incident itself, even after the patient seems to have recovered and has been released from hospital.

The Safe Food Handbook (available on Amazon) discusses how you can protect yourself, as do other posts on this blog. Be careful if you are going on a cruise!

TSF

ARE CRUISE SHIPS SANITATION INSPECTIONS WORKING?

I have been advising readers of this blog to check out their cruise ship before booking for a cruising vacation. This could help them avoid being trapped at sea during an outbreak of illness on board, as has happened to hundreds of unhappy travellers recently.

One of the main sites I have suggested is the U.S. Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) operated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The purpose of the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) is to help "prevent and control the introduction, transmission, and spread of gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses on cruise ships." In most cases, we are talking about Norovirus-caused outbreaks on cruise ships - the kind that has been in the news lately.

The main activity of the VSP is inspection of cruise ships with more than 13 passengers and a foreign itinerary when these ships enter U.S. ports. Cruise ships are supposed to be inspected about twice each year.

When I took a closer look at the scores, reports and corrections of theses inspections over the years, I was not impressed. In fact, these ship inspections reminded me of common weaknesses in the inspection of U.S. food processing plants and restaurants.

True, the ship inspections really seem to be catching many failures in sanitation. But I noticed two weaknesses. First, the scores can be very high - even a 100 score - in spite of the ship being loaded with problems, almost any one of which could trigger or spread an outbreak of GI illness. In fact, very, very few cruise ships ever get a "not satisfactory" score of 85 or below (the Queen Mary II - pictured - was one of the few that has done so during the last 12 months).

Secondly, the followup of problem correction is weak. In fact, the VSP does not check if any correction has taken place at all until the next inspection of the ship. This could be months or a year away. In the meantime, cruises continue, and passengers may be exposed to risks of getting seriously ill while supposedly on a pleasant vacation.

To your good health,

TSF

THE MOST COMMON CAUSE OF FOOD POISONING

A friend recently told me that both she and her husband had become ill after attending a wedding. "A really bad case of the stomach flu," she said. "We are still on antibiotics."

That "stomach flu" was most likely food poisoning caused by a virus called "Norovirus" that was somewhere in the food served at the wedding reception. And no, those antibiotics are not going to help. Most basically healthy people will recover on their own in a few days.

Noroviruses are responsible for about half of all reported outbreaks of gastroenteritis (vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramping caused by inflammation of the stomach and intestines) in the U.S. Over 80% of these illnesses occur between November and April - right now.

The virus is often spread through food, but can also be caught from your drinking water, by touching things that have the virus on them, and directly from person to person. Almost half of all cases of food poisoning in the U.S. are believed to be caused by this virus (compared,for instance to about a quarter with bacterial causes).

In the U.S. and other industrialized countries, the most common settings for norovirus outbreaks are long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes, where outbreaks can last months and even be fatal as people are more vulnerable. The virus is also common in restaurant food and at parties and catered events of all kinds - such as weddings, on cruise ships and tours, and in schools and child-care facilies (see earlier blogs).

Be careful!

To your good health,

TSF

CRUISING MAY BE NO CARNIVAL IF YOU GET FOOD POISONING

I noticed that there have been a lot of views lately of my post of 25 February of last year, titled "Is Cruise Ship Food Safe to Eat?" People must be planning cruises this time of year. That is, if they still want to take the risk after the Carnival Cruises disaster in Italy a few days ago. But if you do - remember, running aground is not the only risk on the trip. There's also food poisoning.

In case you need convincing about the health risks on cruise ships, read the second comment on this post - much abbreviated here: "Just returned from my third cruise in about 3 years. Both my daughter and I got sick........ I feel like death warmed over. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy!..." It sounds like a bad case of Norovirus - the most common cause of food poisoning, which frequently crops up on cruise ships. It can really ruin your vacation.

There are actually three post on the topic of cruise ship food on this blog, and you should particularly read the second on the list if cruising is on your agenda:

"Why are Cruise Ships Risky Places to Eat" - 26 February 2011

"How to Avoid Getting Sick on a Cruise Ship" - 25 February 2011

"Is Cruise Ship Food Safe to Eat?" 25 February 2011

And choose your cruise ship carefully to make sure it has not had recent outbreaks by checking the CDC "green sheet" (information on the posts).

To your good health,

TSF
Updated on Jan. 16