Swine Flu Aboard Helsinki Cruise Liner

[TrishPaak]

LINK: http://www.yle.fi/uutiset/news/2009/06/swine_flu_aboard_helsinki_cruise_liner_835370.html

Fourteen cases of the H1N1 virus have been confirmed onboard a cruise liner that docked in Helsinki on Sunday. The Emerald Princess cruise liner docked in the capital for eight hours en route to St. Petersburg.

According to the Russian Ria Novosti news agency, swine flu has been confirmed among 13 crew members and one passenger. They have been quarantined on the vessel.

All other passengers have undergone health checks and have left the ship in St. Petersburg. Most of the over 4,400 people on the ship, flying under the Bermudan flag, were Americans.

Passengers were taken on board the ship on June, 25. Laboratory samples were taken during a stopover in Oslo. The ship docked at the Hernesaari Harbour and due to return next Wednesday.

Local harbour officials in Helsinki said notification of the swine flu outbreak should have been made to the World Health Organisation.

The National Institute for Health and Welfare says iit had not informed of the outbreak by Tuesday afternoon..

YLE

 

[TrishPaak]

Re: Swine Flu Aboard Helsinki Cruise Liner

LINK from Russian press:
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090629/155385779.html

Cruise ship with A/H1N1 outbreak onboard arrives in Russia


MOSCOW, June 29 (RIA Novosti) - A cruise ship with 14 A/H1N1-infected people onboard arrived in Russia's second city of St. Petersburg on Monday, Russia's chief sanitary official Gennady Onishchenko said.

Swine flu was confirmed in 13 crew members and one passenger of the Emerald Princess cruise liner, which sailed from the Finnish capital, Helsinki. The infected have been quarantined in their cabins and are being treated with the anti-viral drug Tamiflu.

"A/H1N1 flu has been confirmed in all quarantined people," Onishchenko said. "Their condition does not require hospitalization."

Other passengers and crew passed medical checks. The ship had 3,243 passengers and 1,201 crew members onboard.

The first case of the highly pathogenic virus, which infected at least 70,893 people worldwide, was confirmed in several crew members on June 18. When the vessel arrived to St. Petersburg, 16 people had already recovered and tested negative for the virus.

 

[FrenchieGirl]

Re: Swine Flu Aboard Helsinki Cruise Liner

Cruise Liner with H1N1 Passengers Docks in Helsinki
published yesterday 07:09 PM, updated today 12:08 PM

The Emerald Princess cruise liner, docked again in Helsinki on Wednesday morning. Helsinki City health authorities have been notified that five people aboard the ship have contracted swine flu.

On Tuesday Helsinki City Epidemiologist Hannele Kotilainen said any passengers or crew members who are infectious will not be allowed ashore while the vessel is in Finland.

When the ship was last in Helsinki in late June, Finnish officials were not informed that there were several people on board at the time who had contracted swine flu.

The Bermuda-flag US-owned Emerald Princess was in Finland on June 28th before sailing on to St. Petersburg.

Cases of swine flu onboard the Emerald Princess had been confirmed by tests taken in Oslo four days earlier. The infections were reported to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control by Norwegian officials, but the information went unnoticed by Finnish authorities.

The captain of the vessel was under obligation to report the infections before entering Helsinki harbour.

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[Comment: The infections may have been reported to the ECDC but this is not shown in the last three situation reports. However, the WHO updates mention this ship H1N1 infections. From what has been posted above as well, the press made a large echo of this event...]