More than 200 passengers hit by illness on New Orleans-based cruise

Associated Press ^ | 12/15/02 | AP

[antivenom]

NEW ORLEANS - About 229 guests on the cruise ship Carnival Conquest reported symptoms of a gastrointestinal illness on a voyage that ended Sunday, Carnival Cruise Lines said.

Miami-based Carnival said it was working with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine the cause of the outbreak.

But the company said it was treating the illness as a Norwalk-like virus that has recently hit other cruise ships and was cleaning and sanitizing the entire vessel.

The Conquest, which had 3,160 passengers, left New Orleans on Dec. 8

The next seven-day cruise to the western Caribbean was expected to depart Sunday evening. The company said it had informed the next group of voyagers about the outbreak and was offering refunds to any who did not want to sail.

[antivenom]

This has to be "terrorism"...we have since 9-11 seen WAYYY too many of these problems.

[SamAdams76]

This has happened several times recently. Perhaps the terrorists have targeted "midnight buffet."

[antivenom]

Repeatedly and all in the Caribbean..."favorite" cruise area of middle class America. I don't believe we are seeing these "outbreaks" in other areas...the Alaska cruises, or European areas...or off of Asia???

This is beginning to stink...it is appearing MORE deliberate everytrime I see a case reported.

I have enjoyed cruises in the past...and I have NEVER remembered hearing this type of news...EVER!

[Mulder]

Nothing to see here.... move right along.

[jalisco555]

May also be poorly trained, poorly paid, overworked staff from third-world countries not washing their hands or cooking implements properly.

[OldFriend]

May they all have voted for Landrieu!

Not feeling very charitable this day!

[lelio]

How much money have Big Cruise invested into their own security? Background checks on employees (hah!)?

[Fiddlstix]

This has happened several times recently. Perhaps the terrorists have targeted "midnight buffet."

It's certainly something to consider.

[antivenom]

I was thinking along those lines for awhile too...I am beginning to wonder...we have seen in the news that the USA wil be flying DRONES off of the south of Florida...I am beginning to see a "Bigger Picture" emerging here...

The poisoning possibly at the ports of call?

[DannyTN]

Terrorism. It looks like they have targeted the cruise industry.

Time to reassess hiring Akmed as a shiphand. There are a lot of longlived viruses going around this year, but I don't think this is chance. Time for the FBI to get out of denial and catch these guys.

Heres a profile.
Look for a Muslim, probably but not necessarily from the middle east, or a petty criminal who has served time in US prisons. He has probably traveled to the middle east in the last 5 years. And has phone records where he has been in direct contact with the middle east or in contact with another person of middle eastern dissent, who maintains contact with the middle east.

Shouldn't really be that hard to nail down.

[Bill Davis FR]

bioterrorism is difficult to detect and then to combat...we are at the mercy of these terrorist...its time to learn to live a new lifestyle...

[antivenom]

ME guys to average middle class Americans at a port of call would look to most like "another island native". I am wondering if the "terrorists" are at the ports of call...possibly spraying an aresol, or contaminating a few items...you get people in "immediate" contact, that "spread it to family and friends, while enjoying a stroll around an island...they re-board the ship...cross contaminate a few more...and voila...you have a full fledge outbreak and another cruise ship contaminated...

[antivenom]

HELLLLOOO Bill! I'll be flying in to BWI on Christmas Day!

Yes you are correct...they promised to attack us by "land, sea and air"...and looks like maybe they have made good on their promise...have set up another industry to "fail"...to deny Americans another "enjoyable diversion"...

[muggs]

That's also been a problem but these cases of illness seem to be a new occurance, or at least they are being reported more often.

[ClancyJ]

Background checks on employees (hah!)?

What about background checks on paying passengers?

They can check background on employees day in and day out but that does not prevent a passenger from doing the evil deed. I suspect a vial of something brought aboard by a passenger, sprinkled onto the buffets, on the ice, or wherever. Could even be sprinkled on linens as they walk by.

I agree this is terrorism and is intent on harming the cruise lines economically. This could easily be done with a deadly virus also. Wonder if a message is being sent?

[steveo]

This has to be "terrorism"...we have since 9-11 seen WAYYY too many of these problems.

I don't think so. Why isn't this happening on the west coast? Both coasts run their operations the same, same 3rd world staff on each coast, same supply methods, etc. The water supplied through distillation. And why isn't everyone on board getting ill? My guess is the passengers are picking up the bug at a common port of call (s). It does no good to sterilize the ship when the ship isn't the source of the infection. Then again there's always sympathy barfing theroy. Is CNN available on cabin televisions?

[antivenom]

The cases before were related to "food poisoning"...food poisoning is NOT the result of a virus...it is bacteria that plagues people who have eaten rank food...

That's what is so "interesting" about this...a virus...Norwalk Virus...they are testing (poo poo) and are ruling OUT food posioning...and ruling IN the virus. KEY in all of these outbreaks is Norwalk Virus...

[muggs]

also = always

[hove]

Yes this is terrorism. They have said that they would attack transportation and tourism. Their goal is to attack our economy...and these outbreaks will take their toll. The question is, how are they getting this virus on these ships? Has the strain of Norwalk type virus been identified? If so, is it the strain that has been investigated for weaponization? Is it the strain that has hit our troops overseas? The bottom line is that there is no way that this many outbreaks..especially on the ships...is a natural random occurance.