Kentucky Public Health Team Monitoring Riverboat Flu

Officials in Kentucky were running tests Monday to try to determine what caused at least 36 people to complain of flu-like symptoms while traveling down the Ohio River on the Mississippi Queen.

Dr. William Hacker, commissioner for the Kentucky Department of Public Health, said if preliminary tests didn’t confirm the cause, cultures would be sent to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for further tests.

Hacker said Sunday that the non-life threatening illness appeared similar to Norwalk virus, a contagious ailment common among cruises, nursing homes and schools.

A total of 36 passengers were examined over the weekend by medical staff at Methodist Hospital in Henderson after complaining with symptoms of the illness, said Pam Moran, spokeswoman for the hospital.

Hacker said seven people departed the boat Sunday morning in Paducah to be screened at a local hospital.

Federal and state health officials were monitoring food and hygiene practices aboard the riverboat that was traveling from Cincinnati to St. Louis.

Norwalk virus has a quick incubation period, is contagious, causes mild to moderate gastrointestinal problems, including vomiting and diarrhea, and usually “burns itself out” in 12 to 24 hours. Treatment usually includes hydration, and anti-diarrheal or nausea medication.

“This is a common illness; however, in confined spaces you can have a larger number of people become ill and need treatment,” Hacker said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent a team, including at least one doctor, to travel aboard the boat from Paducah to St. Louis, Hacker said.

Mark Sears, environmental health director for the Green River District Health Department, said the state and crew are taking every precaution they can to control the illness.

State health officials started an epidemiological investigation into the cause after the ship docked in Henderson.

“We’re looking at illness rates, number of people who are ill, any common factors to find a common sources of the illness, which we have not found at this point,” Sears said.

Hacker said the investigation included examining food storage, handling and service. It does not appear that any improper handling of food led to the illness. Lab cultures and stool samples from patients are also being tested.

The riverboat left Cincinnati on Wednesday and was scheduled to arrive in St. Louis on Tuesday. The majority of the ship’s 525 passengers remained on the ship as it continued its tour, said April Matson, spokeswoman for the boat’s owner, Majestic America Line.

The company is a subsidiary of Ambassadors International Inc., a cruise, marine, and travel and event company based in Newport Beach, Calif. Majestic America Line owns six cruise ships that ply U.S. coastal and inland waters, and rivers.

The boats travel the Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland and Arkansas rivers in the Midwest and South, and the Columbia, Snake and Willamette rivers in the Northwest. The company also operates cruises of Alaska’s Inside Passage.