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Cruise Ship Sickness: Hundreds Fall Ill To Mystery Bug

Cruises — on February 23, 2010 1:43 pm

Cruise ship deck chairsMore than 400 people on a cruise in the Caribbean are being treated for a gastrointestinal illness that is sweeping the ship.

About one out of every four of the 1,800 passengers on the Celebrity Mercury has reported symptoms of upset stomachs, vomiting and diarrhea.

Keep reading to find out what the ship is doing to treat the outbreak and prevent it from spreading.

According to a Celebrity Cruise spokeswoman, Cynthia Martinez, the ship’s crew is instructing passengers to stay in their cabins until the virus passes. The crew will also scour the ship with enhanced cleaning efforts.

Meanwhile, sick passengers have been given over-the-counter medications such as Pepto-Bismol and Imodium.

Get health & safety tips for cruises in our Cruise Travel section.

Two cruise shipsCelebrity brought on another doctor and two nurses Monday to help treat the hordes of ill passengers.

Although it is not apparent at this time what exactly is causing the stomach bug, the cruise line has sent some samples to a lab to be analyzed.

Spending any amount of time on a Caribbean cruise kneeling before the porcelain throne is a worst-case scenario for travelers. But Celebrity is giving passengers certificates for future cruises to help make up for the time spent in quarantine.

The 12-day cruise departed from Charleston, South Carolina on February 15. The Celebrity Mercury has six more departures scheduled in upcoming months.

By Dan Bence for PeterGreenberg.com.

Related Links: ABC News, Yahoo! News

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  • http://Yanextech.com/ George Gobrial

    I just came across your article and would like to offer a comment:
    Bacteria, viruses, spores and mold can be easily disinfected with the use
    of ultra violet light. A technology that has been around for many years.
    Yet only recently has it been made portable enough to be deployed easily
    in any indoor environment. These devices,disinfect the air and surfaces in almost any size room in literally minutes and can achieve up to 99.999% efficacy. Many, in the medical field are aware of Ultra Violet Disinfection, because it is utilized on a very small scale to disinfect instruments, yet may not know that it is available for entire room treatments. This approach may be an excellent step for cruise lines to combat bacterial and viral disinfection.

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  • Stella Caroline Hanni

    I’m trying to find information on a cruise we just finished to South America. We boarded the HAL Rotterdam on April 10, 2010. The first couple of weeks seemed to be okay, but noticed alot of people coughing and not feeling well. Two weeks into our trip my husband and I both came down with what the Dr. first described as a cold. I went back to him two days later with one of the worst sore throats and earaches I’ve ever had and he gave me some antibiotics saying it might be the flu. After spending four days in our room and in bed we went back to the Dr. and he said there was nothing else he could do, we’d just have to ride it out. He also said there had been over 700 passengers with the same symtoms. Nothing was ever announced to the rest of the people aboard. Talking to several of the crew, they said that the last cruise had similar problems. Three days before landing, they called a red alert as there had been six people come down with the stomach flu. That was lifted the next day. Do we have any recourse at all as to a refund of moneys and medical bills.

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  • Ray

    It is a pity P & O don’t offer afflicted passengers compensatory certificates. Having spent a Caribbean cruise confined to cabin in solitary confinement P & O did not care about lost time & even charged for medical visits that were unsilicitated.