An 11-day Caribbean Princess cruise came to an end on Monday when the ship carrying more than 3,000 passengers arrived at Port Canaveral after a confirmed gastrointestinal illness outbreak on board. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Vessel Sanitation Program, 145 passengers and 15 crew members reported being sick during the voyage. The VSP inspects cruise ships, tracks data on illnesses, and responds to outbreaks.
Dave Forney joins Engage. He is the former Chief of the CDC Vessel Sanitation Program and now works as a Managing Partner of Global Public Health Services.
This conversation comes as health officials continue monitoring a separate and rare hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship in the South Atlantic that arrived in Spain on Sunday.
To understand why these outbreaks happen, Engage also speaks with Dr. Cindy Prins, an infectious disease epidemiologist and Associate Professor at the UCF College of Medicine.
