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An outbreak of gastroenteritis on a passenger cruise ship

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2009

Mary C. O'Mahony ,
N. D. Noah ,
B. Evans ,
D. Harper ,
B. Rowe ,
J. A. Lowes ,
A. Pearson  and
B. Goode
Mary C. O'Mahony
Affiliation:
PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, Colindale, London
N. D. Noah
Affiliation:
PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, Colindale, London
B. Evans
Affiliation:
PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, Colindale, London
D. Harper
Affiliation:
PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, Colindale, London
B. Rowe
Affiliation:
PHLS Central Public Health Laboratory, Colindale, London
J. A. Lowes
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory, Southampton
A. Pearson
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory, Southampton
B. Goode
Affiliation:
Port Health Authority, Southampton
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Summary

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In an outbreak of gastroenteritis on board a cruise ship 251 passengers and 51 crew were affected and consulted the ship's surgeon during a 14-day period. There was a significant association between consumption of cabin tap water and reported illness in passengers. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli were isolated from passengers and crew and coliforms were found in the main water storage tank. Contamination of inadequately chlorinated water by sewage was the most likely source of infection.

A low level of reported illness and late recognition of the outbreak delayed investigation of what was probably the latest in a series of outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on board this ship. There is a need for a national surveillance programme which would monitor the extent of illness on board passenger cruise ships as well as a standard approach to the action taken when levels of reported illness rise above a defined level.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Hygiene , Volume 97 , Issue 2 , October 1986 , pp. 229 - 236
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

References

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