Ship illnesses or bio-terrorism

More and more these days we here about hundreds upon hundreds of people coming down with mystery flu-like sickness on numerous cruise lines. 10-15 years ago I dont think i remember hereing about any of this happening. Could this be some new bio-terrorism or something else?

ok, The more I think about this I wonder a few things. First I do realize many people packed together on a ship people are not always healthy arriving, whether its a cold or something. Sure it gets passed on to someone else and someone else and bam 400 people sick. Wouldnt the same scenario apply to a large office building with many levels and many workers? You would think a whole office of a corporation would go down the same way, people in a closed setting would eventually pass it around that office building just like on a cruise ship. Cruise ships have good ventilation systems as well do large office buildings SO what are peoples thoughts on this? How come only people on cruise lines are getting so sick on ships? puz:

I've worked in both environments, ships and office buildings. I have to say that I do see differences between the two.

The close quarters of a ship are very different from an office setting because on board ship all members of the crew eventually cross paths in places like the mess, the head, in your quarters, etc....
The crew is always in close contact with each other and any virus or bacteria can readily spread from one to the other. Once you add passengers to a ship you expand your risk of infection.

People fly from cities all over the world to join a cruise ship, and who knows what sort of infections they bring with them ?
Then the crew is in close contact with the passengers, moving from one to the other. They change their beds, clean their toilets, and basically handle everyones waste.
Even crew that clear the dishes off the table can transfer the bugs in your mouth just from picking up your used fork.


On the other hand, I've worked in a couple large office buildings.
The one I spent the most time in I would come in around 8:00 am, go up to the 27th, enter an office with about 25-30 staff, and never come in contact with almost anyone on any of the other floors.

Though the population of both those environments are similar, say about 3,000 people each, their interaction is quite different.

ok. How about substituting crew from a ship with contract cleaning personnel in a building. These cleaning personnel would make their way around to areas like for example: bathrooms, meeting rooms office areas and break rooms and etc. . if cleaning personnel were sick they could possibly pass these germs the same way they would get passed on a ship. One thing I thought about would be substitutes. So it is possible that the same crew wouldnt be cleaning at the same time. any thoughts on this anyone?

Originally posted by mcgilligan02
How about substituting crew from a ship with contract cleaning personnel in a building. These cleaning personnel would make their way around to areas like for example: bathrooms, meeting rooms office areas and break rooms and etc.

Very true, but in a large office building you only have a handful of cleaning staff compared to the thousands of workers. Many of those janitors only clean certain floors, and believe it or not, many of them are very specialized.
The guy that looks after the floors in the lobby will never touch your desk.
The person in charge of the climate control will never shake hands with the guy that scrubbed the toilets. They just don't have the opportunity to meet each other.

The crew of a ship is far more intimate than the staff that maintain an office building because a ship is 24/7 and very close quarters.