Ebola scare on the high seas: Mexico and Belize close ports to cruise ship carrying health worker who handled samples from 'patient zero' who died of virus

  • The female passenger works at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, Dallas
  • Took a trip on the Carnival Magic trip - due to stop in Belize and Mexico 
  • She handled clinical samples from Duncan - who died of Ebola on October 8
  • The woman, who is with her husband, had no symptoms but went into voluntary isolation
  • Hospital has now issued tighter guidelines to stop staff traveling 
  • Belize is refusing to let the passenger ashore because of Ebola fears 
  • The ship will be skipping its final stop in Cozumel, Mexico, Friday and will return to Texas on Sunday

By Annabel Grossman for MailOnline

Published: 05:03 EST, 17 October 2014 | Updated: 20:40 EST, 17 October 2014

A cruise ship which launched from Texas has been barred from entering Belize and Mexico because it may be carrying an Ebola victim.

The ship is carrying a health worker from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas - the epicenter of the Ebola crisis, where the first patient to die of the disease in America was treated.

The woman - who is now in voluntary isolation to protect fellow passengers - had handled samples from Thomas Eric Duncan, who died of the virulent disease on October 8.

Officials had wanted to move her off the ship so she could fly home. But the governments of Belize and Mexico both denied permission for the ship to dock in order to protect its own citizens.  

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A female healthcare worker from Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital is reportedly quarantined on board Carnival Cruise ship Magic (pictured) in the Caribbean over an Ebola scare

Tourists enjoy a ride on a catamaran as cruise ship Carnival Magic is seen near the shores of Cozumel October 17

Tourists enjoy a ride on a catamaran as cruise ship Carnival Magic is seen near the shores of Cozumel October 17

The health worker has so far not shown any signs of the disease since she handled the material 19 days ago, the White House said.

Ebola's incubation period is two to 21 days. In the wake of the scare on the seas, Texas Health Presbyterian shared news guidelines it had issued limiting staff's travel.

From now on workers will not be permitted to board planes, ships or trains for 21 days after entering a room with an infected patient.

The New York Post, which reported the memo, said that enhanced monitoring will also be put into place, and staff can volunteer to be taken into care at the hospital if they want. 

The government is working to return the woman and her husband to the US before the ship, the Carnival Magic, completes its cruise. The State Department was working to secure their transportation home. 

On board: Passengers on the Carnival Magic, pictured, have been separated from the health worker, who put herself in voluntary isolation

On board: Passengers on the Carnival Magic, pictured, have been separated from the health worker, who put herself in voluntary isolation

Keeping on: Vacations continued for passengers aboard the ship, who were given a $200 credit to their on-board accounts, but had to miss out on a stop in Mexico

Keeping on: Vacations continued for passengers aboard the ship, who were given a $200 credit to their on-board accounts, but had to miss out on a stop in Mexico

An administration official said the cruise ship had stopped in Belize but officials there would not allow the passenger to leave the vessel so she could be flown home.

On Friday morning, passengers aboard the ship learned that they will not be making a planned stop in Cozumel, Mexico, due to 'a situation beyond the cruise ship's control.'

The captain of the Carnival vessel made the announcement at around 10am saying that they are being forced to skip the final port on the itinerary and return to Galveston, Texas, Sunday.

‘We greatly regret that this situation, which was completely beyond our control, precluded the ship from making its scheduled visit to Cozumel and the resulting disappointment it has caused our guests,’ the Carnival Cruise line said in a statement to Miami Herald.

A Mexican port authority official said the ship was denied clearance to avoid any possible risk from Ebola.

'It is the first time that this has happened, and it was decided the ship should not dock as a preventative measure against Ebola,' Erce Barron, port authority director in Quintana Roo, told Reuters 

The company is offering passengers a credit of $200 each to their shipboard account and a 50 per cent discount toward a future trip. 

Explanation: This note was handed out to passengers explaining how the spat with Belize meant the woman could not be taken off the ship

Explanation: This note was handed out to passengers explaining how the spat with Belize meant the woman could not be taken off the ship

The ship skipped a planned stop in Cozumel, Mexico, on Friday because of delays getting permission to dock from Mexican authorities over Ebola scare 

The ship skipped a planned stop in Cozumel, Mexico, on Friday because of delays getting permission to dock from Mexican authorities over Ebola scare 

A government official said that when the Texas lab worker left the US on the cruise ship from Galveston October 12, health officials were requiring only self-monitoring.

One official said it's believed the woman poses no risk but health-care authorities want to get her off the cruise ship and back to the US out of an abundance of caution.

There have been no restrictions placed on other passengers aboard the ship.

Images from aboard the stricken vessel were published by The Denver Channel. 

Carnival Cruise Lines said in a statement that the woman, a lab supervisor, remained in isolation 'and is not deemed to be a risk to any guests or crew'.

'We are in close contact with the CDC and at this time it has been determined that the appropriate course of action is to simply keep the guest in isolation on board,' the statement said.  

The worker is being monitored for any signs of infection by the ship's doctor.

An administration official said the cruise ship had stopped in Belize, but officials there would not allow the passenger to leave the vessel, which is now on its way back to Texas

An administration official said the cruise ship had stopped in Belize, but officials there would not allow the passenger to leave the vessel, which is now on its way back to Texas

The worker did not come into direct contact with Thomas Eric Duncan - the Ebola-infected man who died at the Dallas hospital on October 8.

US State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said the worker joined the cruise ship with a companion in Galveston, Texas on October 12.

'The employee has been self-monitoring, including daily temperature checks, since October 6, and has not had a fever or demonstrated any symptoms of illness,' Ms Psaki said. 

The cruise ship is carrying more than 4,600 passengers and crew.

In a statement about company policy concerning Ebola, Carnival officials wrote: 'None of Carnival Cruise Lines' ships visit the region where Ebola cases are originating nor do our ships call in any countries with Level 3 CDC Travel Heath Notices. 

'Any passengers or crew who have visited or traveled through Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea within 21 days of a cruise departure date will be denied boarding.'

The Belize government said Washington has asked for assistance evacuating a cruise ship passenger who was considered to be 'a very low risk of Ebola' - but it refused because of the threat of infection.

'The Government of Belize reassures the public that the passenger never set foot in Belize,' it said in a statement

Mr Duncan, 42, was diagnosed with the deadly disease on September 28 after returning from a trip to Liberia. He died from the virus on October 8

Mr Duncan, 42, was diagnosed with the deadly disease on September 28 after returning from a trip to Liberia. He died from the virus on October 8

'While we remain in close contact with US officials we have maintained the position that when even the smallest doubt remains, we will ensure the health and safety of the Belizean people.'

The incubation period - the time interval from infection with the virus to onset of symptoms - for Ebola is two to 21 days, according to the World Health Organization. 

Caribbean countries on the Gulf of Mexico cruise circuit have been among the first to close their borders to travelers from Ebola hotspots, with four nations laying down bans.

Jamaica has joined Colombia, Guyana and the Caribbean island of St. Lucia as countries denying entry to travelers who recently visited the Ebola-affected nations.

Jamaica's travel ban extends to 'persons ordinarily resident in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone as well as persons who have traveled to or transited through Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, within 28 days of having departed from these countries,' the government said. 

Two nurses who treated Mr Duncan, 42, have also been diagnosed with Ebola.

But both Nina Pham, 26, and Amber Vinson, 29, were in a stable condition after treatment for the deadly virus.

The latest statistics from WHO show that the worst-ever Ebola epidemic has already claimed nearly 4,500 lives, with the vast majority of the fatalities in the West African nations of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

The passenger is a healthcare worker at the Texas Presbyterian Hospital where Thomas Duncan died

The passenger is a healthcare worker at the Texas Presbyterian Hospital where Thomas Duncan died

The deadly virus has also reached Nigeria, Senegal, Spain and the United States but outbreaks have been contained so far.

Ebola is spread through close contact with an infected person's bodily fluids, such as blood, sweat, vomit, feces, urine, saliva or semen. 

Those fluids must have an entry point, like a cut or scrape or someone touching the nose, mouth or eyes with contaminated hands, or being splashed. For this reason healthcare workers wear protective gloves, fully-body suits and masks.

WHO says blood, feces and vomit are the most infectious fluids, while the virus is found in saliva mostly once patients are severely ill and the whole live virus has never been culled from sweat.

Health workers in protective gear carry the body of a woman suspected to have died from Ebola virus, from a house on the outskirt of Monrovia, Liberia (pictured) earlier this month. The latest statistics from WHO show that the worst-ever Ebola epidemic has already claimed nearly 4,500 lives, the majority in West Africa

Health workers in protective gear carry the body of a woman suspected to have died from Ebola virus, from a house on the outskirt of Monrovia, Liberia (pictured) earlier this month. The latest statistics from WHO show that the worst-ever Ebola epidemic has already claimed nearly 4,500 lives, the majority in West Africa

 

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