Sint Maarten. Un bateau de croisière est prié de ne pas faire escale

Par Sxminfo Antilles 27 Jan 2014 10:31

Les services de santé de Sint Maarten ont rendu publique leur “recommandation” faite au bateau de croisière Explorer of the Seas d’annuler leur escale prévue ce jour, lundi 27 janvier, afin de ne pas mettre en danger la population.

The Collective Prevention Services (CPS) of the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, on Sunday recommended to the Medical Officer on-board the Explorer of the Seas, of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, that the vessel should by-pass the Port of St. Maarten – scheduled port visit was Monday – and return to its homeport in the interests of mitigating any risk to public health to residents and visitors on the island.

The advisory notice communications handled by Maria Henry from the CPS to the Explorer of the Seas Medical Officer stated that, the overall number of cases far exceed the recommended norm; based on this information being reviewed in consultation with the United States Center of Disease Control (CDC), Dr. Izzy Gertsenbluth, Epidemiologist and Dr. Virginia Asin, Head of the CPS, considering that there is also no guarantee the outbreak is and will be contained based on the vessels last presented overview and reported numbers, the CPS maintains its initial advisory that the vessel should return to its home port for proper disinfection.

On Saturday U.S. Virgin Islands Government officials were informed by the U.S. CDC that 281 passengers and 22 crew members aboard the Explorer to the Seas, have reported symptoms that resemble norovirus.

The Explorer of the Seas is carrying 3,050 passengers and 1,165 crew and was scheduled to make its port of call in St. Thomas on Sunday and the Port of St. Maarten on Monday.

On Sunday the CDC was to board the vessel in St. Thomas with a Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and an epidemiologist to conduct an epidemiologic investigation, environmental health assessment, and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. Specimens were also to be collected and sent to the CDC lab for testing.

The norovirus is extremely contagious and can be contracted from people, contaminated food or water or by touching contaminated surfaces.

It causes the stomach and intestines to become inflamed resulting in nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. It is the most common cause of gastroenteritis in the United States of America infecting as many as 21 million people annually.

Le bateau de la Royal Caribbean est en effet suspecté d’abriter une épidémie de norovirus, plus communément connue sous le non de gastro-entérite, si l’on se fie aux symptômes des plus de 300 passagers et membres d’équipage, soit environ 10 % du nombre de personnes à bord.

Le navire est actuellement immobilisé à San Juan (Puerto Rico) pour désinfection sanitaire, et la Royal Caribbean a décidé de mettre un terme à la croisière tel qu’indiqué dans le communiqué de presse ci-joint.

270114-RoyalCaribbean.pdf (74,0 KiB, 650 hits)