2 research outputs found
State of the art: public health and passenger ships
Background. The purpose of this report is to describe issues relevant to public health and
to review all passenger ship associated diseases and outbreaks. Moreover, legislation and
practices on sanitation and diseases surveillance related to ships internationally were also
reviewed. Some relevant historical information about infections on merchant ships is provided
as well.
Material and methods. The methods used to develop the state-of-the-art report included
a scientific literature review and an extensive and thorough search of the websites of organisations
and government departments. A considerable effort was made to capitalise
on previous experience in the field. In particular, for the literature review, a total of 158
scientific articles were used including 91 full papers and 67 abstracts, 7 guidelines published
by the WHO, and 13 guideline documents published by other organisations.
Moreover, 5 international conventions relevant to passenger ships were identified.
Results. At the international level, public health issues related to ships are regulated by the
revised International Health Regulations (2005). Other conventions of the International
Maritime Organization regulate safety on board ships and waste and ballast water management,
while conventions of the International Labour Organization regulates issues related
to working conditions on board ships. Guidelines for preventing and controlling public health
threats on board ships can be found in seven Guidelines published by the World Health
Organization, including the WHO Guide to Ship Sanitation, which provides a framework for
policy making and local decision making. The literature review results revealed that the
infections/outbreaks that occur on passenger ships include Norovirus, Legionella spp.,
Salmonella spp., E. coli, Vibrio spp., and influenza A and B virus. The modes of transmission
include person to person, waterborne, foodborne, airborne, and vectorborne, and
shore excursions are responsible for some outbreaks.
Conclusions. The industry (especially the ferry industry) and sanitary organisations can
enhance collaboration in order to implement integrated hygiene programmes and prevent
the occurrence of communicable diseases aboard passenger ships
Occupational health legislation and practices related to seafarers on passenger ships focused on communicable diseases: results from a European cross-sectional study (EU SHIPSAN PROJECT)
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Seafarers play an important role in the transmission of communicable diseases. The aim of the present study is to draw information and identify possible gaps on occupational health practices related to seafarers sailing on ships within the European Union Member States (EU MS) with focus on communicable diseases.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A structured questionnaire was sent to competent authorities from 21 EU MS. The questionnaire included questions about occupational health policies, medical certification of seafarers, communicable diseases reporting and relevant legislation. Descriptive analysis of the data was conducted by the use of Epi Info software: EU MS were categorized in four priority groups (A, B, C, D) based on: number of passenger ships visits, volume of passengers, and number of ports in each country. Moreover, EU MS were categorized to old and new, based on the date of entry in the EU.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All 21 countries with relevant competent authorities responded to the questionnaire. The existence of specific national legislation/regulation/guidelines related to vaccination of seafarers was reported by three out of the 21 (14%) responding authorities. Surveillance data of communicable diseases related to seafarers are collected and analyzed by 4 (19%) authorities. Five out of 21 of the responding countries (24%) reported that tuberculin test result is required for the issuance of seafarer's medical certificate while a great variety of medical examination is required for the issuance of this certificate among countries.</p> <p>Gaps on occupational health services focused on communicable diseases related to maritime occupation have been reported by 33% of the responding countries.</p> <p>Responding authorities from Group A and B had the highest percentage of reported gaps followed by groups C and D. Old MS reported a higher frequency regarding gaps on occupational health services in comparison to new MS.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results revealed heterogeneity regarding occupational health of maritime employees in EU MS. This work provides some evidence that further work at international and European level could be considered, in order to explore the potential for harmonized initiatives regarding occupational health of seafarers.</p