Bahamian tourism officials, feeling the jitters from a rash of cruise ship illnesses, say they hope that the situation is “resolved quickly.”
The latest sickened ship, the Carnival Fascination, pulled out of the Port of Nassau over the weekend after a three-day voyage to The Bahamas.
By the time the ship docked at the Port of Miami on Monday, 190 passengers and 13 crew members were exhibiting vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain symptoms, associated with a Norwalk-like virus.
The situation was enough to temporarily sidetrack parliamentary debate in the House of Assembly Monday.
“We will continue to monitor the situation via the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, industry sources, the media and through various experts to ensure that we, as a port of call, are doing everything possible to support this important industry,” Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe told his parliamentary colleagues.
Minister Wilchcombe gave the assurance that the Government of the Bahamas is prepared to implement any programmes to would help to achieve a quick resolution.
The cruise ship business is an integral part of the Bahamas tourism industry.
A peak in cruise ship visitors has account for an increase in tourists to the end of October. There was an additional 205,000 sea arrivals – a nine percent increase – most of whom were cruise visitors who spent annually around $150 million.
“The cruise industry is one of the Bahamas’ long standing business partnerships,” the Tourism Minister said. “We hope this situation is resolved quickly.”
Investigators from the CDC on Monday were looking into two more outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses aboard cruise ships.
The Norwalk virus is one of the most common causes of gastrointestinal illness and tends to strike people in confined spaces, an official said.
The virus can be transmitted person to person or by consuming contaminated food or water. Outbreaks occur regularly on land and cruise ship outbreaks occur several times a year, Forney said.
Norwalk virus infection is typically marked by vomiting and diarrhea, but the symptoms tend to go away without treatment within a day or two, Dickinson said.
In addition to the outbreak on the Fascination, nearly 500 passengers and crew aboard the past two voyages of the Disney cruise ship Magic fell ill with Norwalk virus.
The 8-year-old, 855-foot Fascination was disinfected and departed Monday evening for a four-day cruise to Key West , Florida , and Cozumel , Mexico , a few hours later than scheduled, a Carnival spokesman said.
Nearly 100 people, or 4.5 percent, of 2,220 passengers booked on the trip elected not to go, he said. All have the choice of a refund or a cruise at another time, he said.
