How to avoid stomach bugs on your next cruise

Consumer Reports News: March 23, 2011 12:03 PM

A few simple steps can help prevent the spread of stomach bugs on a cruise ship, according to a study published online today by the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. Don't board if you're already sick. Seek help if you get ill. And it might not hurt to stay away from people who vomit, too.

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed 1,533 patients who had been on a passenger ship stricken in January 2009 with an outbreak of norovirus, a highly contagious gastrointestinal bug that causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea,and stomach cramps, and spreads rapidly in cramped, close quarters. A staggering 15 percent met the case definition for acute gastroenteritis, the illness caused by norovirus. But only 60 percent of those who became ill sought medical care on the ship, which might have helped ship staff contain the disease. Infected passengers were particularly likely to have had an ill cabin mate and to have either slept or dined on the ship's fifth deck, where an ill passenger had vomited in public during boarding.

See our tips on preventing and treating norovirus and staying healthy while traveling.

—Jamie Hirsh