Flu sickens hundreds on USS Roosevelt

CNN ^ | Dec 19, 2002

[FReepaholic]

>>...Carnival this morning reported an unusually high number of cancellations for next quarter cruises. Probably due to the illness publicity. I know that I am a lot less likely to ever take a cruise after learning about this kind of thing...<<

For this very reason I believe the cause to be Al-Qaeda related. If you recall, they boasted they'd ruin our economy.

[CDHart]

Is it just me, or is there an increased incidence of these "stomach flus?" There's the cruise ships, schools, nursing homes -- or am I paranoid?

Carolyn

[theFIRMbss]

>My theory regarding this outbreak of food poisoning on ships-it's bioterrorism.

I'd believe you but
then you have to wonder what
the "terrorists" hope

to accomplish. So
where's the terror in making
people puke a bit?

Is there evidence
that there are after-effects
lingering at all?

There certainly seems
like a "cluster of clusters"
of semi-normal

illnesses hitting
all over. But what's the point
of this as "terror?"

[doug from upland]

My son-in-law Josh is aboard.

[homeschool mama]

Prayers for your son and his safe health. <><

[Wild Irish Rogue]

" But what's the point
of this as "terror?"


Disruption of the normal routine on a Navy vessel for one. On the cruise ships,any chaos they can introduce into aspects of the economy is a bonus. People are not cancelling their cruises in the numbers they may have hoped,but that may have been their goal.Could be they are using the ships as an experiment or tune up for something bigger. Or it could be just a bunch of disgruntled employees getting revenge on the food industry-doesn't have to be AQ. The number of people with food poisoning( not chest colds and fever) are too high for it to be happenstance,IMHO.

[jriemer]

(Hint): "Hamburger, hamburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheesburger, hamburger, hamburger..."

No Fries, Chips. No Pepsi, Coke.

As I suspected the mystery illness was caused by Jim Beluishi and the Billy Goat Tavern skit from the old SNL days...

jriemer

[AmericanInTokyo]

Both the writing and the acting was far superior in those old days.

SNL now adays is a big bore; maybe the opening segment is worth something. The rest is just stupid skits with the central theme being GenX and 20-something music/rap that the rest of many of us can/don't want to understand.

[BruceS]

I think the point of the "But what's the point" comment was why don't the terrorists tell us they are doing it. If they were to say that, they would just about shut down the cruise lines. Even if they weren't doing it, but said they were, they would cause mass panic.

I think the problem is poorly trained, poorly paid crew, combined with the 4-5 hour turnaround time for these ships that just leaves gaps in any sanitary plan. As for the Roosevelt, I think 300 sailors getting some bug is not good, but hardly unusual for the military (6% infection rate in those close quarters is not significant in the overall operation of the ship).

If this is the best the terrorists can do, they should give it up.

[astounded]

I have thought for a while that these "outbreaks" are not natural. Cruise ships are a logical target of al qaeda - they are very symbolic of the fat, decadent American and represent a significant part of the economy in south Florida. They have managed to directly impact the airline industry and now are testing the deployment of biowarfare in another sector of the tourist economy.

On a similar note, I have long thought that the West Nile virus is a test platform to assess the ability of avian vectors to spread a biowarfare agent. Why do you think the CDC reported the possibility of avian transmission of hemorrhagic viruses (ie. Ebola)? Coincidence? I think not.

[New Horizon]

That's one hell of a
haiku. I wonder why you
wrote your post that way?

[Travis McGee]

Do the swabbies still call their greasy chow line cheeseburgers sliders?

[nicmarlo]

PING!!!!

[nicmarlo]

PING

[Squantos]

I learned at an early age that the doctor who sees sick people all day long survives such exposure by simply washing his hands. Hand washing ! The miracle of modern medicine.....who'd a thunk it ?:o)

Stay Safe !

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

I am guessing, from the ole days of the Navy (five years ago) :-) this has happened in the past but in the seventeen plus years of being in the Navy family that I know of= not in this number. Flu shots are mandatory. What is it about ships and widespread ilnesses in the past few months?

[hove]

Intestinal flu = Norwalk virus.

This is the one that has been hitting cruise lines. There are also flare ups in the US and Canada.

I wonder why they didn't identify this outbreak as Norwalk?? Are they trying to conceal something?

[TexKat]

I want to know whether the troops routinely receive the annual flu vaccine.

I don't know about the military members on the U.S.S. Roosevelt, but my son is in the military and he received his flu shot in the past couple of weeks. They are also scheduled to receive anthrax and small pox vaccines last week and this week.

[Poohbah]

I want to know whether the troops routinely receive the annual flu vaccine. If they did receive it this year, this story is more ominous. Otherwise, it is just the normal course of events.

This is a GI virus, not the flu.

It happens a LOT during work-ups and early in the deployment period. Lots of people in close proximity, and everyone's tired from getting their squadron's gear muscled aboard and the ship provisioned before setting sail.

All you need is one idiot not washing his hands before preparing food, and you have an instant epidemic.

[TexKat]

Prayers for your son-in-law and a friend of mine's nephew who is also aboard the USS Roosevelt.