Mitigating norovirus spread on cruise ships: a model-based assessment of diagnostic timing and isolation
Journal of Travel Medicine·
- DOI
- 10.1093/jtm/taaf059
- PMID
- 40568974
- PMCID
- PMC12640874
- OpenAlex
- W4411671808
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Publication version
This article has a linked preprint
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Open linked preprint →Why this research matters now
Timely diagnosis and isolation substantially reduce norovirus transmission on cruise ships. Encouraging passengers to seek immediate medical care when gastrointestinal symptoms appear can improve outbreak control.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study evaluated how diagnostic timing and isolation protocols affect norovirus transmission during cruise ship outbreaks.
Study design
Investigators analyzed a line-list of 121 cases from a Mediterranean cruise outbreak using Bayesian inference to reconstruct transmission chains, then calibrated a branching process model to simulate alternative isolation scenarios.
Population and setting
The outbreak occurred aboard a cruise ship visiting Mediterranean ports, with 121 cases among passengers representing a cumulative incidence of 9.7%.
Main findings
Ten percent of infected individuals caused 57% of secondary cases, with these superspreaders experiencing longer diagnostic delays (mean 83 hours versus 47 hours) and reduced symptom frequency. The 72-hour isolation protocol averted 71% of potential cases and reduced the effective reproduction number from 9.8 to 4.9. Further reductions in diagnostic delay lowered case counts and outbreak sustainability.
Public-health relevance
Timely diagnosis and isolation substantially reduce norovirus transmission on cruise ships. Encouraging passengers to seek immediate medical care when gastrointestinal symptoms appear can improve outbreak control.
Important limitations
The summary relies on abstract and metadata from a single article. Model assumptions about transmission heterogeneity and the accuracy of reconstructed transmission chains were not detailed in the abstract. Full interpretation requires review of the complete manuscript.
GIDS interpretation
This article is discoverable through classifier links for gastroenteritis, diagnostics, outbreak investigation, and transmission dynamics. It provides modeling evidence on intervention timing within a closed population setting but does not represent an active surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 8 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.