At a glance
Gastrointestinal illness can spread quickly in closed and semienclosed environments, such as cruise ships. However, rates of AGE illness on passenger cruise ships have significantly decreased over time.
Introduction
The Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) defines AGE illness as
- Three or more loose stools within a 24-hour period or what is more than normal for the individual, OR
- Vomiting along with one of the following symptoms: Diarrhea, bloody stool, muscle ache, headache, abdominal cramps, or fever
Highlights
Decreasing numbers of AGE outbreaks on cruise ships are likely a result of several factors:
- The evolution of environmental health sanitation standards established in 1975 by VSP and enforced during VSP ship inspections.
- Cruise industry practices such as
- Implementation of hygiene standards
- Availability of handwashing stations in public areas on ships
- Health screening of passengers and crew before embarkation
What the data shows
From 2006 through 2019, approximately 127 million passengers sailed on 252 cruise ships in VSP jurisdiction. We found ship size and voyage length were associated with AGE illness.
- Overall, the rate of AGE illness on cruise ships decreased during 2006-2019 for passengers and crew.
- However, illness rates among passengers increased on larger ships and on voyages longer than 7 days.
- In addition, illness rates among crew were higher on larger ships and on voyages lasting >5 days.
More targeted effort is needed to prevent unequal illness rates among passengers and crew.
Explore more
Read the article from CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) that this plain language summary is based on: Acute gastroenteritis on cruise ships — Maritime Illness Database and Reporting System, United States, 2006–2019.
Learn what steps travelers can take to help limit the spread of AGE.