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Cruise ship nightmare as hundreds get sick at sea near Brazil
Nearly 350 passengers on the MSC Sinfonia, a Swiss-owned cruise ship that left Rio de Janeiro one week ago, have come down with some kind of food borne virus that's caused a massive outbreak of vomiting and diarrhea on board, according to the Associated Press.The ship had to be steered into port at Salvador, Bahia, where the passengers are reportedly recovering. Spokespeople for the cruise liner say the virus is not life threatening.
There were 2,000 passengers on board the cruise, mostly from Brazil.
Inspections found high amounts of chlorine in the cruise liner's drinking water and problems with the storage of perishable food items like mayonnaise, the AP says.
An investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the outbreak. The Brazilian agency in charge of it is called the National Agency for Sanitary Vigilance, and if that isn't a great name for a government department, I don't know what is.
Filed under: Travel Health, Cruises
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dickbyrne Jan 9th 2009 3:17PM
stay home, cook for yourself with food from a store you trust. cook from "scratch".
Dick Byrne Aug 2nd 2010 6:41PM
good advice
Came Tilonus Jan 11th 2009 5:55PM
I can tell you that if it was in Europe or in the US, the Cruise Company will pay a lot of money to each of the 380 passengers....but, it happened in BRAZIL, so nothing it's gonna hapen..at least the MSC must pay them back the money for the tickets...
Shanta May 15th 2009 12:40PM
Have you heard? There’s a product now available in the U.S. that protects travelers from getting Travelers’ Diarrhea. It’s called Travelan and has been popular in Australia for several years. It’s non-prescription and less expensive than antibiotics. You take it before every meal to neutralize the bacteria that causes Travelers’ Diarrhea.