Posted: February 5th, 2008 - 7:12pm by Doug Powell

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that cruise passengers got a break last year, as serious cases of gastrointestinal illness at sea fell sharply after setting a record in 2006.

Last year, there were 16 confirmed outbreaks of norovirus on ships monitored by the CDC, down from 29 outbreaks the year before.

Federal ship regulators say cruise lines have become the model for fighting outbreaks of norovirus, which spreads easily and causes flu-like symptoms for 48 to 72 hours.

Capt. Jaret Ames, head of the vessel sanitation program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, said,

"They're much better at it today than they were in 2002."

Last year, 12.6 million people took a cruise worldwide. The cruise Web site cruisejunkie.com calculates that at least 4,159 passengers fell ill with norovirus.

Steps to avoid norovirus on a cruise:

Don't touch door handles, handrails or other communal surfaces and then touch your mouth or nose. Wash your hands often.

Make use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers, especially in food-service areas.

Before booking a cruise, compare health inspection reports of vessels and cruise lines.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site — http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/pub/CruisingTips/cruisingtips.htm — provides inspection scores. Any score below 85 is considered unsatisfactory.

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