Uploaded February 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In a typical year, tens of millions of people take a cruise onboard one of hundreds of cruise ships located across the globe. This all changed in 2020 when COVID-19 appeared causing a global pandemic, which included several high profile outbreaks on cruise ships. Border closings and no sail orders by governments forced the industry to cancel bookings and temporarily pause operations.
Before COVID-19, some people associated cruise ships with outbreaks of acute gastrointestinal illnesses due to norovirus, but acute gastrointestinal illness is relatively infrequent on cruise ships according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Other outbreaks that have been linked to cruise ships include influenza, foodborne illnesses and less commonly, Legionnaires’ disease (which is not spread from person to person).
The CDC states that outbreaks of infectious diseases can happen on cruise ships because people spend time close together and with travelers from many countries. Close-contact environments facilitate transmission of respiratory viruses from person to person through exposure to respiratory droplets, aerosols or contact with contaminated surfaces. An outbreak of an infectious disease can also impact future voyages if environmental contamination is not addressed, or in the case of illnesses that can be transmitted from person to person, infected crew members remain onboard.
All of this has brought renewed attention to the importance of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and infection control procedures onboard these massive ships that can hold thousands of guests and crew members. Efforts to prevent the spread of germs from person to person, through the air and on surfaces, and from water systems and food sources are all essential for not only the health of passengers and crew, but also the industry.
To learn more about this or other infection control, indoor environmental quality, industrial hygiene or other health and safety issues, please visit the websites shown below.
Clark Seif Clark csceng.com
EMSL Analytical, Inc. emsl.com
LA Testing latesting.com
Zimmetry Environmental zimmetry.com
Healthy Indoors Magazine healthyindoors.com
In a typical year, tens of millions of people take a cruise onboard one of hundreds of cruise ships located across the globe. This all changed in 2020 when COVID-19 appeared causing a global pandemic, which included several high profile outbreaks on cruise ships. Border closings and no sail orders by governments forced the industry to cancel bookings and temporarily pause operations.
Before COVID-19, some people associated cruise ships with outbreaks of acute gastrointestinal illnesses due to norovirus, but acute gastrointestinal illness is relatively infrequent on cruise ships according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Other outbreaks that have been linked to cruise ships include influenza, foodborne illnesses and less commonly, Legionnaires’ disease (which is not spread from person to person).
The CDC states that outbreaks of infectious diseases can happen on cruise ships because people spend time close together and with travelers from many countries. Close-contact environments facilitate transmission of respiratory viruses from person to person through exposure to respiratory droplets, aerosols or contact with contaminated surfaces. An outbreak of an infectious disease can also impact future voyages if environmental contamination is not addressed, or in the case of illnesses that can be transmitted from person to person, infected crew members remain onboard.
All of this has brought renewed attention to the importance of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and infection control procedures onboard these massive ships that can hold thousands of guests and crew members. Efforts to prevent the spread of germs from person to person, through the air and on surfaces, and from water systems and food sources are all essential for not only the health of passengers and crew, but also the industry.
To learn more about this or other infection control, indoor environmental quality, industrial hygiene or other health and safety issues, please visit the websites shown below.
Clark Seif Clark csceng.com
EMSL Analytical, Inc. emsl.com
LA Testing latesting.com
Zimmetry Environmental zimmetry.com
Healthy Indoors Magazine healthyindoors.com
