Ferson

International Centre for Cruise Research
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Abstracts

Ferson, M. J. and Ressler, K. A. "Bound for Sydney town: health surveillance on international cruise vessels visiting the port of Sydney," Medical Journal of Australia, 2005, 182:8, 391-394

A program for routine health surveillance on international cruise ships visiting the Port of Sydney has been developed since 1998. Before ntroduction of this programme, ships only reported quarantinable diseases and were not aware of the Australian requirement to report other infectious diseases. Voluntary routine reporting, developed in partnership with the cruise ship industry, provides timely information on all infectious diseases of public health interest during every cruise. During 1999-2003, the programme resulted in detection of and response to 14 outbreaks of gastroenteritis or acute respiratory infection, affecting more than 1400 passengers and crew. The program has improved preventive action, and risk communication and management by cruise ship operators, and led to more timely investigation and support by public health authorities.

Ferson M, Paraskevopoulos P, Hatzi S, et al. "Presumptive summer influenza A: an outbreak on a trans-Tasman cruise," Communicable Diseases Intelligence, Mar 16 2000, 24(3):45-7.

Abstract: A number of recent reports from the Northern Hemisphere have drawn attention to the occurrence of summer outbreaks (May to August) of influenza A among cruise ship passengers and their contacts. In cases amongst passengers returning to Canada from Alaska, exposure appears to have occurred during the land-based Alaskan tour with illness developing during the subsequent cruise. A late summer outbreak of influenza A among passengers and crew on the return leg of a 14-day Sydney-New Zealand-Sydney cruise is reported in this article.