Cruises limit boarding in effort to stop SARS

Cruise lines have watched in fear as SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome, has sickened thousands of residents and travelers in Asia and beyond.

Now, the International Council of Cruise Lines has announced tough new procedures, including denying boarding to people from some SARS-affected areas, to prevent passengers and crews from getting or spreading the sometimes fatal, pneumonia-like disease on ships.

Individual cruise lines, including Crystal Cruises and Star Cruises, began canceling port calls and/or screening passengers in Asia in mid-April, when the SARS outbreak prompted international health and travel warnings.

The new ICCL guidelines, developed with U.S. and international public-health agencies and issued last week, widened and standardized precautions and will prevent anyone who has been in some SARS-designated areas or been exposed to the virus from boarding a cruise ship.

"We have made prevention our utmost priority and first line of defense — and this means careful screening of crew, passengers and visitors to prevent anyone from bringing the virus on board," said ICCL President Michael Crye.

There have been no confirmed SARS cases on member vessels, said the Virginia-based industry group, which represents many of the world's major cruise lines. The WHO Web site reported the pneumonia-like disease had sickened more than 5,600 people in 26 countries, with more than 370 deaths (by midweek, when the Travel section is printed).

Among the cruise group's policies:

• Various SARS-affected areas have been designated as "areas of special concern" — China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore as of midweek — and "all passengers, visitors and crew who have been in, or have transferred or transited through (those areas) within the preceding 10 days will be denied boarding, along with their immediate traveling party," said the ICCL.

• The city of Toronto, which has had some SARS infections and deaths, has a less-stringent designation. However, anyone who has been in the Canadian city in the 10 days preceding a cruise will have extra screening for SARS symptoms, which include a fever and cough.

• All passengers, crew and visitors have to fill out a SARS questionnaire before boarding a ship. Anyone who has had close contact with a confirmed or suspected SARS patient, any SARS-affected household or health facility in the preceding 10 days won't be allowed to board.

• Sanitation is being boosted on ships, and protective masks and gowns kept on board.

• Cruise lines are asked to place a hiring freeze or minimum 10-day quarantine on crew from the areas designated of special concern.

Some cruise lines recently have experienced the difficulty in stopping the spread of viral infections in the close quarters of cruise ships.

Last year, the Norwalk virus, a common cause of gastrointestinal illness, swept through ships belonging to several cruise lines, sickening hundreds of passengers. Cruise lines canceled some cruises to break the cycle and disinfected for days, scrubbing and spreading a glaze of chlorine.

Kristin Jackson: 206-464-2271 or kjackson@seattletimes.com