CDC offers vessel sanitation training

Amid the growing popularity of cruise tourism, the Center for Disease Control has intensified efforts to ensure the health of cruise-ship passengers by conducting inspections and offering free training on vessel sanitation to various shipping companies.

According to Capt. Dan Harper, senior environmental health officer, CDC, the Vessel Sanitation Program was created to prevent the outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness among cruise-ship passengers entering the major ports in the United States.

If more than three percent of the passengers are reported ill, Harper said a doctor and environmental health officer will immediately conduct an investigation.

Harper was here to conduct a training for cruise ship executives from Japan and local health officials. The training, which is usually conducted in Miami Florida was held in Saipan for the first time due to its proximity to Japan.

A ships’ compliance with the program’s recommendations is calculated based on a scoring system. Ships that score below 86 percent are reinspected, Harper said. A review of data from the program indicates that ships that consistently have the highest sanitation scores are less likely to have an outbreak of diarrhea than ships with lower average scores.

The Vessel Sanitation Program was established in 1975 as a cooperative effort with the cruise ship industry in response to several disease outbreaks on cruise vessels. CDC’s main task involves the inspection of the ship’s food, water supply, practices and personally hygiene of employees, general cleanliness and physical condition of the ship, the general cleanliness and physical condition of the ship and public health practices.

Another component of the program is participation in the construction and renovation of ships. Harper said they offer assistance by going over the plan of the ships before it is constructed with the engineers and architects. “We look at the water system, the food system, the garbage system, child care areas, and other aspects that can affect public health,” he said. Recommendations are then made to the company and Harper’s team would inspect the vessel again when it is completed to find out if such suggestions were included.

In the early 1970s and early 1980s, 12 to 15 outbreaks of diarrheal illness occured each year. In the 1990s, the number of outbreaks has decreased to 1 to 3.

According to CDC, the risk of on-board diarrheal disease outbreaks is approximately 2.1 per 10 million passenger-days. The decrease in trend is the direct result of the cruise ship industry’s commitment to adhere to the program’s recommendations, ongoing consultation and education services and the highly-professional staff.

From 1987 to 1994 alone, CDC has barred the sailing of five ships until corrective measures are fully implemented. In 1993, one of the ships disregarded the recommendation and set sail which led the US Coast Guard, CDC was prepared to detain the ship to port. Immediately, the management of the vessel took corrective actions which removed the imminent health risk.

The Vessel Sanitation Program operated continuously at all major US ports until 1986, when CDC terminated portions of the program. On March 1, 1987, the program became operational again when it was restructured. It is now funded by user fees, which will reimburse the government for program costs.