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Cruise ship passengers to Phuket are being checked on arrival

Phuket Cruise Ship Check: Three Held in Flu Alert

Tuesday, May 5, 2009
THREE nurses and a doctor boarded a cruise ship with Immigration officers yesterday at Phuket's deep sea port to check passengers and crew for swine flu.

Two Thais and a German woman bound for Phuket were in quarantine in Bangkok today, with Asia being advised to stay alert for a ''second wave'' of the swine flu outbreak.

The German woman's high temperature was detected at Suvarnabhumi Airport while the Thais, both men, fell ill after returning from trips over the weekend.

The director of Phuket's Provincial Public Health, Dr Pongsawat Rattanasang, said that yesterday, a total of 1900 passengers and crew on the Super Star Virgo were checked.

One passenger, an Indian woman, showed symptoms of having flu. She had boarded the cruise ship in Singapore, the boat's last port of call before Phuket.

Dr Pongsawat said an examination showed the woman had a normal fever.

The killer virus has slowed its pace in North America, but World Health Organisation and medical experts remain on high alert.

Mexico, epicentre of the outbreak, claimed to have contained the H1N1 epidemic.

But WHO director general Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun said that while the first wave might be subsiding, the virus could return with a vengeance and ''would be the biggest of all outbreaks the world has faced in the 21st century''.

On Phuket, a theremoscan unit already on board the cruise liner was used to check passengers and crew yesterday.

''I was impressed with medical facilities on board,'' Dr Pongsawat said.

''They have one doctor and three nurses on the liner, an intensive care unit and an operating theatre.''

Yachts that arrive on Phuket have to first register at Chalong Pier, where crew are being checked for swine flu as well.

Each Monday a cruise ship arrives on Phuket. Passengers and crew will be subject to a swine flu check until the virus scare is over.

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For some real true stories about what happens on cruise ship, check out:

www.cruiseshipstories.com

Thanks,

Sean (former crew member)

Posted by Sean B. Halliday on August 20, 2009 00:18


Friday March 29, 2024
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