A significant number of passengers were still suffering from the symptoms of a major flu-outbreak aboard the luxury cruise ship ‘Arcadia’, when it called at the port of Walvis Bay last Friday. Many were not able to disembark at major ports, as the symptoms included severe coughing and shortness of breath, obliging especially elderly passengers to stay aboard.

Passengers referred to the flu as the “Arcadian Cough.” Many were confined to their cabins onboard and advised to stay indoors. The ship’s medical staff was inundated with patients taking ill on the journey, some whom were treated and returned to their cabins while some were kept in the ship’s hospital for observation.The passengers shared their frustrations over the flu outbreak online by posting blogs and updates to networking sites, including Facebook and YouTube. The outbreak also fetched headlines in newspapers in the smaller port cities along the way and highlighted the importance of hygienic standards and the regular sterilisation of passenger ships to avoid pest outbreaks or germ and virus infections that target and compromise the human immune system.“Arcadia” is on a four-month world cruise that started in Southampton, via the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal to Asia, Australia, the Indian Ocean and Cape Town. It is now on the north-bound return-journey to the United Kingdom traveling via Walvis Bay, St. Helena and Tenerife.

< Prev   next >