World | Other World Stories
Swine flu forces cruise ship to return home early
Ocean Dream cuts its Caribbean cruise short and is met by helicopters and medical staff as it docks in Aruba
- AP
- Published: 23:39 June 19, 2009
Oranjestad, Aruba: A cruise ship hit by a swine flu outbreak arrived back at home port to the buzz of helicopters and a swarm of masked medical workers yesterday as health authorities tried to prevent the illness from spreading.
The Dutch territory's Health Ministry said it was examining passengers and crew as a precaution. Three crew members have tested positive for the H1N1 influenza and 11 others showed symptoms, prompting the Ocean Dream to cut short its Caribbean cruise.
Helicopters buzzed overhead and Coast Guard boats flanked the ship as passengers waited to disembark into the cruise terminal. Nearly a dozen health officials shrouded in white clothes and wearing masks checked them for symptoms.
"You come back from a cruise, you're on vacation, and it feels like you're on a boat full of lepers," said Isabel Duque, 48, of Madrid.
She said crew members had been working overtime.
"Their mental state has changed," she said. "Their faces are not the same ...they don't have the joy they had at the beginning. These poor people seem like zombies."
The Ocean Dream arrived back in its home port early yesterday and Health Ministry officials said it would take several hours to check the roughly 400 passengers and an equal number of crew for signs of flu.
Swabs will be taken for further analysis from anyone who shows symptoms. If a preliminary test comes back positive, they will be kept under surveillance on the ship along with people with confirmed cases.
Meanwhile, authorities in Bangladesh have confirmed the first case of swine flu in the country, the government said yesterday.
The first case was confirmed on Thursday when a passenger travelling by air from the US tested positive for the virus, the Health Ministry said.
The passenger, whose name was not disclosed, returned to Dhaka with a febrile illness. Medical teams at the airport, deployed in the wake of global pandemic of swine flu, tested him for the virus.
Share this article
News Editor's choice
-
Zoo elephants will go to wildlife parks
Order follows complaints from rights activists of treatment of animals kept in captivity
-
Diabetes: A ticking time bomb
Gulf News takes a closer look at the spread of diabetes in the UAE
-
What to expect at the Dubai Airshow
We preview what types of aircraft to expect at the Dubai Airshow
