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Outbreaks of diarrhoeal illness on passenger cruise ships, 1975–85

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

D. G. Addiss ,
J. C. Yashuk ,
D. E. Clapp  and
P. A. Blake
D. G. Addiss
Affiliation:
The Enteric Diseases Branch, Division of Bacterial Diseases, Center for Infectious Diseases
J. C. Yashuk
Affiliation:
and the Special Programs Group, Office of the Director, Center for Environmental Health and Injury Control,Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
D. E. Clapp
Affiliation:
and the Special Programs Group, Office of the Director, Center for Environmental Health and Injury Control,Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA
P. A. Blake
Affiliation:
The Enteric Diseases Branch, Division of Bacterial Diseases, Center for Infectious Diseases
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Summary

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We reviewed data from the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP), established by the US Public Health Service in 1975, to describe the epidemiology of shipboard diarrhoeal outbreaks, determine the risk of outbreak-related illness among cruise ship passengers, and evaluate changes in rates and patterns of shipboard diarrhoeal illness since the VSP was implemented. When the programme began, none of the cruise ships passed periodic VSP sanitation inspections; since 1978, more than 50% of ships have met the standard each year. On cruises lasting 3–15 days and having at least 100 passengers, diarrhoeal disease outbreaks investigated by the Centers for Disease Control decreased from 8·1 to 3·0 per 10 million passenger days between 1975–79 and 1980–85. The proportion of outbreaks due to bacterial pathogens (36%) did not change. Seafood cocktail was implicated in 8 of 13 documented food-borne outbreaks. The risk of diarrhoeal disease outbreaks on cruise ships appears to have decreased since implementation of the VSP but has not been eliminated.

Type
Special Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 103 , Issue 1 , August 1989 , pp. 63 - 72
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

References

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