Approximately 100 passengers on a cruise vessel on a six-day cruise to Vietnam came down with food poisoning last week. The cruise vessel, a Star Cruises ship, had just set off from Singapore to Vietnam, and was winding its way through Ho Chi Minh City and Redang Island. There were a total of 1,700 passengers on board the Superstar Virgo.
According to news reports, the passengers who fell ill first had lunch at the Grand Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, and followed that up with a buffet dinner on the ship when they returned. There is no information about exactly what kind of food poisoning infection these passengers suffered, but most of them suffered diarrhea, nausea, stomach cramps, fever, vomiting and chills.
According to some reports, the scene on the cruise vessel was simply chaotic, with long lines outside clinics. At least one of the passengers who contracted food poisoning had to be lodged in the ship’s intensive care unit after he developed intense abdominal cramps and high fever.
There is still no information on where the passengers contracted the infection-whether it was on land during lunch, or on the ship. The ship has since reached Singapore.
The last place you want to get seriously ill on is on a cruise ship. Sure, modern cruise ships come with doctors, nurses, and mini- hospital facilities. However, medical care is almost always limited on a cruise ship, and in serious cases, persons may have to be airlifted to shore- always a dangerous, risky and difficult procedure. Even slight negligence in taking safety and health precautions can mean disaster on a cruise vessel that can be a temporary home to thousands of passengers in close proximity to each other. An infection can rage quickly through a vessel, incapacitating passengers, and leaving them seriously sick or injured.
The maritime attorneys at Maintenance and Cure represent cruise vessel crew members and passengers who have been injured as a result of cruise vessel accidents.
