ABSTRACT
Communicable diseases pose special problems and probabilities at sea. A number of factors increase the risk of infection and contagion: Many strangers at close quarters People from various geographical and social
backgrounds, with great variation in pathogens carried and in immunities
Stagnant air in closed rooms Animal carriers – mosquitoes, rodents, birds Limited water and food supplies at risk to con-
tamination from sea air and water as well as from shipboard organic waste
Common ventilation system for a large population
Spas, pools and buffet-misting devices that generate aerosols
Hard-to-track exposures in visits to and from ports and other ships Some of the major infectious disease concerns on
ship are: yellow fever, malaria, gastro-intestinal, respiratory, sexually transmitted, chicken pox, measles and rubella.
