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Cruise workers' health a concern | FLORIDA TODAY |
By Donna Balancia
The health of cruise ship workers is a concern among some industry experts, as the number of large-scale outbreaks of illnesses during cruises is on the rise.
"When a crew member comes down with a symptom, they should immediately be isolated," said Tonya Meister, maritime attorney with Miami-based Lipcon, Margulies & Alsina.
However, she said, that doesn't always happen because crew members might be reticent about reporting they are sick, especially in an environment in which staffing already may be tight.
A just-released analysis by industry watchdog Ross Klein shows the number of cruises with illness outbreaks increased 59 percent, and the number of stricken passengers and crew members in those incidents rose 62 percent in 2006, compared with 2005 figures. Most were gastrointestinal illnesses.
The number of outbreaks on cruise ships serious enough to be reported to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nearly doubled to 37 last year, up from 19 in 2005. February and March historically are prime months for such outbreaks. In 2006, 10 of the 37 outbreaks (27 percent) occurred during February and March; and, in 2005, seven of the 19 (37 percent) occurred during those months.
Michael Sheehan, spokesman for Royal Caribbean International, said crew members are monitored heavily on the ships -- and it's the health of the passengers coming aboard that he's worried about.
"The monitoring of crew members is the easiest thing to do," Sheehan said. "It is the guests who are boarding and disembarking on a weekly basis that make the issue more difficult. We discuss outbreaks with the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) on a given sailing, and we go through a series of possible similarities on where the illness may have begun. If someone's a waiter, for example, and they're servicing 10 tables at an early seating, you track the guests. You can pinpoint where the virus starts. The crew members are not causing the outbreaks."
Oivind Mathisen, editor of the trade publication Cruise Industry News, said the ships are getting bad publicity because they have to report the incidents to the Centers for Disease Control if at least 3 percent of the passengers or crew on a cruise report symptoms of gastrointestinal illness.
"It's possible it's crew or passengers who carry the virus on board," Mathisen said. "This is the time of the year you're dealing with this topic. There hasn't been an impact on booking, as far as I'm told. But when an outbreak is major, you see it in the press. Illnesses happen in hotels and restaurants, too, but the cruise ships have to report it."
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