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Protect yourself from cruise ship virus, check out your ship before you sail!

Cruise Ship Illness by Paha L (Stock.Xchng)

Protect yourself from illness when you plan a cruise vacation, to prevent and avoid yourself from cruise ship virus infection.

The Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) at the USA Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - Department of Health and Human Services, assists the cruise ship industry to prevent and control the introduction, transmission, and spread of gastrointestinal illnesses (GI) on cruise ships.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) established the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) in 1975 as an effort to control the disease aboard cruise ships:

> Prevent the introduction, transmission or spread of communicable diseases into the United States through established public health policies and procedures.

> Assist the cruise ship industry in the development and implementation of comprehensive sanitation programs to protect the health of passengers and crew members aboard cruise vessels.

To assist the cruise ship industry to prevent and reduce diseases like gastrointestinal illnesses on board cruise ships, CDC maintains an electronic surveillance system that tracks cruise ship virus cases, and conducts Gastrointestinal illness outbreak investigations.

Cruise ship medical staffs are required to maintain a log of reported cases of gastrointestinal illnesses. Cases are self-reported by passengers and crew. Medical staff send a report to VSP that indicates the number of cases during designated times.

Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) is a cooperative activity between the CDC and the cruise ship industry to help minimize the risk of gastrointestinal diseases caused by cruise ship virus.

The VSP seems to be working, between 1970s and 1980s there were 12 to 15 outbreaks of diarrhea illness occurred each year on cruise ships, but the number of outbreaks had reduced to three by 1999.

VSP staff inspect twice a year over 140 participating cruises ships while they are in a U.S. port. The inspections are financed by the vessel owners, and the fee is based on the ship's tonnage.

The ships are judged against the "Vessel Sanitation Program Operations Manual". Each ships is given a score between 1 and 100, the passing scores are 86 and above. If a ship fails an inspection, it will be scheduled to be inspected again during the next four to six weeks.

The inspectors will check food, water, spas and pools, employee hygiene, and the general cleanliness of the ships. One advantage for cruise travelers is that the VSP scores are published on the CDC website.

CDC also publishes the "Summary of Sanitation Inspections of International Cruise Ships", commonly referred to as the "green sheet." Although the VSP encourages cleanliness aboard ships, the system is not foolproof.

According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC),

> Anyone who becomes ill while on a cruise ship should seek medical attention on board.

> See a health care provider upon returning home.

> Ill persons should limit contact with the general population on board as much as possible to reduce further spread of disease.

> People planning cruise ship travel, especially anyone older than 65 years of age, anyone with acute or chronic illnesses, or pregnant women should consult with a health care provider prior to travel for advice and possible preventive medication.

> Other measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases on cruise ships include frequent hand washing and obtaining appropriate immunizations prior to travel.

Cruise ship passengers can find useful information at CDC Vessel Sanitation Program about inspection scores, variance requests, cruise ship virus outbreak investigation summaries and updates for all international cruise ships.

Protect yourself from cruise ship virus, check out your ship before you sail! CDC website’s Vessel Sanitation Scores are very important for all Cruise ship passengers.

Quick Links to Your Favorite info:

1) Cruise ship illness, cruise ship health!
Prevent yourself from cruise ship illness during your dream cruise vacation! Wash your hands often and avoid eating and drinking anything that you think will make you sick.

2) Protect yourself from cruise ship virus,
check out your ship before you sail!
USA Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - Department of Health and Human Services’ Vessel Sanitation Scores are very important for all Cruise ship passengers to know.

3) Protect cruise ship employees from virus on cruise ships!
CDC Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) offers training on public health practices that applied in a cruise ship setting.

4) Cruise ships and Norwalk virus
The Norovirus was originally called the Norwalk Virus. The name was shortened to the Norovirus after receiving worldwide attention for being identified in multiple cruise ship outbreaks.

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