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Abstract
---, "Rubella among crew members of
commercial cruise ships--Florida,
1997," Morbidity and
Mortality
Weekly Report, 1998,
46:52-53 (Jan 9), 1247-50 (Also Journal
of the American Medical
Association, 1998,
279:5 (Feb 4), 348, 350)
During April-July 1997, two
different commercial cruise lines notified
CDC of rubella outbreaks among crew members. In July 1997, CDC
initiated an investigation on one cruise ship to determine the extent
of and risk factors for rubella infection among crew members and to
assess the potential risk for rubella transmission to
passengers-particularly rubella-susceptible pregnant women at risk for
giving birth to an infant with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). This
report summarizes rubella outbreaks involving two cruise ships and the
results of the CDC investigation on one cruise ship, which demonstrate
that crew members can serve as a susceptible population for rubella
infection and should be vaccinated with measles-mumps-rubella vaccine
(MMR) if they are not immune. Although the outbreaks were limited to
crew members, cruise ship travel provides an environment conducive to
the potential spread of rubella and other infectious diseases among
crew and passengers; therefore, women of childbearing age, particularly
pregnant women, should be immune to rubella before traveling on cruise
ships to reduce the risks for rubella infection and CRS.
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