Personal Injury Law

Swine flu cruise ship quarantined

By Lipcon, Margulies & Alsina, P.A.

Venezuela has quarantined a visiting cruise ship following an outbreak of swine flu on board.

More than 1,200 passengers and crew will be kept on board the Spanish-owned Ocean Dream, which has docked at the Venezuelan island of Margarita.

They were stopped from disembarking at previous stops in Barbados and Grenada after three crew members were diagnosed with the flu virus.

Eleven more crew members are reported to have symptoms.

"The virus was detected in three crew members and the boat must now stay in quarantine until June 24," said Venezuelan health official Jorge Alchaer.

Ocean Dream is managed by the Spanish tour operator Pullmantur. Miami-based Royal Caribbean, which owns Pullmantur, said it could not comment on the situation.

The passengers? nationalities were not immediately known.

Last week the World Health Organisation declared the virus a global pandemic that has spread to 74 countries. There have been some 30,000 cases diagnosed globally and more than 140 deaths.

Full post as published by Cruise Ship Law on June 18, 2009 (boomark / email).