The outbreak of Swine Flu in Mexico has caused many to go into a state of panic. As of today’s date, there are confirmed infected persons in Canada, Scotland, New Zealand, Spain, and Israel. In the U.S., confirmed infections have been noted in ten states.  Therefore, it should not be a surprise to anyone that Travel and Tourism will be at the mercy of this crisis.  Over the last three days, travelers cancelled their flights and land based all inclusive vacations citing concerns over Swine Flu.  While the cruise lines have suspended all stops to Mexico out of caution, their historical records indicate that the Cruise Lines are, and have always been, better prepared to respond to viral outbreaks when compared to land based destinations.

Since the 1970s the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a division of the U.S. Public Health Service, and the cruise industry established a good cooperative relationship through the establishment and implementation of a Vessel Sanitization Program (VSP).  The simple goal of the VSP is to assist the cruise ship industry to prevent and control the introduction, transmission, and spread of gastrointestinal illnesses (GI) on cruise ships.  The VSP is implemented through a program which consists of Inspection, Monitoring, Training, and Providing Education.

During an inspection, the CDC inspects the medical facilities, portable water systems, swimming pools and whirlpool spas, galleys and dining rooms, children activity center, hotel accommodations (rooms and suites), ventilation systems, and common areas of the ship.  The CDC utilizes electronic monitoring of illness on cruise ships, and must be notified of illness onboard prior to the ships arrival at a U.S. port.    Most importantly, all cruise lines must develop and maintain an Outbreak Prevention and Response Plan (OPRP).  In the event of an outbreak, the cruise ship is required to increase daily cleaning and disinfection frequencies; stop high-risk activities, such as self-service buffet tables and handshaking; isolate ill people; collect clinical and/or environmental specimens for analysis; and provide daily updates to VSP that include case counts and reports of what the ship has done to establish control.

As you can see, the cruise line industry has been trained and prepared for more than thirty years to handle and manage infections like the Swine Flu.  In fact, some cruise lines have successful done so over the years.  In addition to all the precautions, all cruise ships, unlike many all inclusive vacations destinations, have medical infirmaries, with the appropriate staff to manage acute situations.  Additionally, to bridge the gap, cruise lines, and their agents, usually recommend the purchase of travel insurance to cover medical expenses, emergence air transportation, and other important items, in the unlikely event that illness interrupts your vacation.

Is your all inclusive vacation destination prepared to respond to the Swine Flu in a manner comparable to the cruise line industry? Cruising is the clearly the best vacation value.  If you disagree, I would love to hear from you.

Wash your hands

Basic way of preventing getting infected is washing your hands frequently, especially after coughing or sneezing. You can use soap and water, alcohol-based hand sanitizers are also effective. Hand sanitizers can be used when water isn’t available.

Don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth

Germs spread when you touch your eyes, nose or mouth after touching something that’s contaminated.

Avoid close contact with sick people

If possible, avoid contact with possibly infected people. Avoid crowds. Swine flu spreads mainly when people cough or sneeze.

Avoid travel

Try to limit traveling, especially to high risk areas such as Mexico. If you’ve been to Mexico and have flu like symptoms visit a doctor.

Wear facemask or respirator

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing facemask in crowded settings to prevent getting infected and to not infect others. Respirator should be used if you have close contact with infected person (for example you’re caring of sick person at home).

Antiviral drugs

Swine influenza A (H1N1) is sensitive to Oseltamivir (sold under name Tamiflu) and Zanamivir (sold as Relenza). They are effective means of swine flu prevention and treatment. If taken for treatment, Tamiflu and Relenza are most effective if taken within 2 days after illness started. They are also effective for prevention if given to healthy person that had contact with infected people. Antiviral drugs are 70% to 90% effective means of flu prevention. According to CDC, number of days they should be used to prevent H1N1 influenza varies depending on each person’s situation.

Vaccine

Influenza A (H1N1) vaccine isn’t available yet, WHO and CDC are working on it.

Stay home if you feel sick

CDC recommends to stay at home for 7 days after symptoms begin or until you are symptom-free for 24 hours to not spread infection further.

Take care of your health

Sleep well, be active, manage stress, drink lots of fluids, eat healthy. This strengthens your immune system.