Cruise
Ship Hygiene?
All ships that call at an American
port at some point in their travels, will have a CDC rating allocated by the Centres
for Disease Control and Prevention who began the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP)
in the 1970's to protect the health of passengers and crew. - Inspection scores
(green sheets) are issued following routine bi-annual inspections by VSP staff.
A point system of 100 is used; cruise ships receive a score based on the following
criteria:
Water supply - storage, distribution, protection, and
disinfection
Spas and pools - filtration and disinfection
Food
- protection during storage, preparation, and service
Employee hygiene
practices
General cleanliness and physical condition of the ship-cleanliness
and absence of insects and rodents
Training programs-environmental and public
health practices
100 being the ideal score with marks deducted according
to the inspection findings:
Ships scoring 86 or higher have a satisfactory
sanitation level; ships that score 85 or lower have an unsatisfactory sanitation
level and will be re-inspected, usually within 30-45 days to determine if conditions
have improved. In general, the lower the score, the lower the level of sanitation;
however, a low score does not necessarily imply an imminent risk for gastrointestinal
illness. Since the program began, the number of disease outbreaks on ships has
declined even though the number of ships sailing and the number of passengers
carried has increased significantly.
More
ship hygiene information
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