Potential Of Infectious Disease Onboard

[PrincessShmoo]

Ebola is a scary thing bottom line, but it is important to stay with the facts. To date the mortality rate of those treated in US hospitals is well BELOW 70%. Ideally treatment facilities and procedures are better in the US than in West African countries.

Why is this important, the facts of the matter is that to date no one in the general US public has been infected by Ebola, only time will tell if this changes in the future. Additionally b/c the likelihood of contracting ebola is fractions of a % statistically the mortality rate is much lower technically than the common flu which most people don't even give a second thought too....

just trying to balance this feeding into the hysteria.

Well, except for the two nurses that treated Thomas Duncan. And there may be others.

 

[ocspartan]

Well, except for the two nurses that treated Thomas Duncan. And there may be others.

well these were medical professionals that were directly responsible for his care. an outbreak would include those in the general population, the next layer if you may...

awareness and fear are different things. yes while there may be others it is interesting that while these two unfortunately were infected, no one who came in contact with him outside of the hospital have, including his family which were in close quarters, and again this is just the current status, a few weeks or months from now who knows... and everyone will have to re-assess if the fear was warranted or not, point is it's not that easy to transmit as opposed to the many other things out there...

 

[DMMarla07860]

Am I nervous, yes. I'm not canceling my two trips though. Going to Japan for a week November 2nd-10th and then going to Disney World and on Disney Dream in January. I think I'm more worried about the flu after having it in April 2014, just couldn't stay healthy for 11 years. Yup last time I had been sick was 2004 and of course I got sick a week before Disney and a Cruise so this year got the flu shot for first time

 

[mom4fun]

Same here on all the above! On our last Disney cruise they were great about being EVERYWHERE with their sanitizing wipes. Some people might have felt it was too much, but I was very grateful! So wash and sanitize, don't touch buttons, door knobs and railings directly (with fingertips that might wipe an eye a few minutes later) etc. This is good practice for any public place, especially in flu season!

As far as what the cruise lines do or do not do; I will say that I have some behind the scenes knowledge of HAL, and can say that they are very meticulous and have protocols and procedures for EVERYTHING (that all the staff KNOW and FOLLOW). In this sense, I have the feeling that the cruise lines are better prepared for many eventualities than a lot of institutions/companies/public entities on land.

On that note tough, does anyone know, if the Club/Lab on the Wonder have the hand washing machines now, that they have on the Dream?
Or are they standing there with the wipes for every child to use upon entry??This is my only worry, keeping the kiddos healthy...

I always said thanks so much for the hand wipes so one of the workers told me there were people refusing to take one.

 

[Grammy4Lizzy]

Ebola is not an airborne illness. Those nurse were in direct contact with Mr. Duncan.They made a mistake in taking their gloves off incorrectly. Hopefully they will not pay for that mistake with their lives. None of the family that he was visiting have tested positive and noone else in the hospital have tested positive.
I have no fear of contracting Ebola. I am more concerned about flu, norovirus and airborne illnesses. I take precautions clean my hands, wipe down places and don't go to West Africa. I also don't have close contact with strangers body fluids.
The "news" people have made this a sensation and in 2 weeks something else will be the new sensation. Just be cautious and no need to be frightened.
3 people out of 315 million people have been diagnosed with Ebola. I'll take those odds.

 

[wallawallakids]

I have to say I'm a little concerned, though not enough to cancel my cruise in December. Keeping a watchful eye on the news and I hope they get this contained before it become a real epidemic.

I'm also taking a flight out of state for Thanksgiving and I'm more concerned for that that I am a cruise. I'll be bringing lots of sanitizer.

Not to scare you, but hand sanitizer will not kill Ebola. It is a virus.

The likelihood that you would catch Ebola on a flight is extremely low anyway. Hand sanitizer is still useful for the other bugs you may catch, which are more likely anyway. Again, you cannot catch Ebola unless someone vomits or bleeds on you and if you see someone vomiting and bleeding, than turn around. You will be fine flying. Remember, it is not an airborne illness.

 

[Sunseeker17]

Hi! I just wanted to mention that from my research, hand sanitizer is effective against Ebola. It is a virus, but it is not a hardy one outside of the body, and basic disinfectants do work on it. Hope this helps!

 

[tink2007]

Not to scare you, but hand sanitizer will not kill Ebola. It is a virus.

The likelihood that you would catch Ebola on a flight is extremely low anyway. Hand sanitizer is still useful for the other bugs you may catch, which are more likely anyway. Again, you cannot catch Ebola unless someone vomits or bleeds on you and if you see someone vomiting and bleeding, than turn around. You will be fine flying. Remember, it is not an airborne illness.

I just read an article from the CDC today that stated that if washing your hands is not an option, hand sanitizer IS the next best way to kill the Ebola virus.

 

[savage1117]

I just read an article from the CDC today that stated that if washing your hands is not an option, hand sanitizer IS the next best way to kill the Ebola virus.

I've read the same thing. I plan to wipe down our seats in the plane and wash hands like crazy. I will not cancel my trip because of this.

 

[jjje]

Ebola is less contagious than the cold. I'm not worried about it at all. I'll just keep doing my best to avoid strangers spewing body fluids.

 

[wallawallakids]

http://www.killebolavirus.com/does-hand-sanitizer-kill-the-ebola-virus/

It does not kill it. It can weaken it. My point was not to never use it, I was just saying it doesn't protect you 100%. Hand washing is number one. Not touching your face, eyes, nose mouth.

The point is kind of mute anyway as no one is going to catch Ebola on a plane unless they are vomited on.


ETA: wiping down the seats with Clorox bleach wipe type products would be more effective than hand sanitizer and are just as easy to pack if you are that concerned.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

http://www.killebolavirus.com/does-hand-sanitizer-kill-the-ebola-virus/

It does not kill it. It can weaken it. The point is kind of mute anyway as no one is going to catch Ebola on a plane unless they are vomited on.


ETA: wiping down the seats with Clorox bleach wipe type products would be more effective than hand sanitizer and are just as easy to pack if you are that concerned.

A little and maybe an ignorant question: If you use the Clorox bleach wipe to wipe down your airplane seat, and then sit down, won't it bleach out your pants (if you're wearing dark pants)? Or at least do weird things to the color?

 

[ocspartan]

A little and maybe an ignorant question: If you use the Clorox bleach wipe to wipe down your airplane seat, and then sit down, won't it bleach out your pants (if you're wearing dark pants)? Or at least do weird things to the color?

going along with the off topic I wonder what TSA would say if you brought on enough bleach to sanatize your seat...

 

[wallawallakids]

going along with the off topic I wonder what TSA would say if you brought on enough bleach to sanatize your seat...

It is not liquid bleach...it is a wipe. You stick it in a ziplock and you are good to go. I didn't suggest you bring a gallon of bleach on board!

As far as the bleaching the pants issue, I wipe the armrests, table, etc. I don't bother with where I am sitting. Viruses stuck on my butt don't bother me. I doubt it would discolor your pants though. I have used our bleach wipes in my house on our wood and it doesn't discolor them. I haven't tried fabric, but you could always test it on something I guess before you left.

 

[vakamalua]

At this point, Ebola is probably the least of your worries. About 30,000 people die of the flu every year which is very easily spread on a cruise ship.

FYI--on the Magic 14-day transatlantic last month quite a number of people (including us) came down with a very bad virus that mimicked asthma by constricting and inflaming the windpipe which caused extreme coughing including gasping for breath. The on-board doctor told us that he has seen this on the Magic for the past 18 months! He also said that the cough could last up to 6 weeks (about 4 weeks for us). The health office on the ship was crowded every day, both doctors were really busy and the wait for nebulizer treatments was well over an hour. You could hear people hacking all over the ship and we even ran into a couple on our flight home at the San Juan airport who were still coughing uncontrollably. I can only imagine what this nasty virus would do to someone very young, very old or immunity compromised.

IMHO, cruises ships don't do enough to sanitize ships until they receive really bad press, especially when there is a rotavirus outbreak.

 

[starwart]

Person who handled EBOLA specimen boarded a cruise ship. http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2014/10/17/cruise-ship-ebola/17401823/

 

[TravelBugg]

In case anyone in interested...
Obama has named an Ebola Czar.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/17/politics/ebola-czar-ron-klain/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

In case anyone in interested...
Obama has named an Ebola Czar.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/17/politics/ebola-czar-ron-klain/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

With no apparent healthcare experience.

 

[JBam67]

This is sarcasm.... Just think how cheap cruises will become if Ebola hits just one cruise ship.

Check out the news today with Carnival Cruise. It technically hasn't hit but a health care worker who was caring for an ebloa patient is now on lock down.

 

[DahliaRW]

Check out the news today with Carnival Cruise. It technically hasn't hit but a health care worker who was caring for an ebloa patient is now on lock down.

It actually is a lab worker from the hospital in Dallas who *may* have handled a specimen from Duncan. The worker is 19 days past potential exposure (with 21 days being "all clear") and has to this point had absolutely no symptoms of ebola. The worker is currently in voluntary quarantine in his/her cabin on the cruise ship. But as the worker has no symptoms, they are not a threat to anyone prior to being quarantined and in two days will probably walk away totally healthy.