CRUISE ILLNESS MISERY (From Bournemouth Echo)

CRUISE ILLNESS MISERY

6:05am Thursday 1st May 2008 in

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A DORSET woman is at the centre of a health investigation after seven passengers on a "jinxed" cruise ship were struck by a potentially deadly strain of hepatitis.

More than 1,800 holidaymakers are undergoing tests to see if they have contracted hepatitis E following the outbreak on board P&O's Aurora liner.

Seven victims - men and women aged in their 50s and 60s - turned yellow and suffered sickness and diarrhoea after testing positive for the virus during the world cruise.

A eighth suspected case is Rosalind Boughton, 75, from Wimborne, who went yellow from "head to toe" and collapsed on the ship, is awaiting test results.

She underwent treatment on the Aurora costing £3,000 and was quarantined in her cabin before being airlifted to New Zealand where she was admitted to hospital.

Hepatitis E is a form of severe liver inflammation and is rife in developing countries. It is usually passed through contaminated food or water and is fatal in two per cent of cases.

The remaining passengers were unaware of the outbreak until after they returned home and received letters from the Health Protection Agency (HPA). They were advised to undergo blood tests and given a 10-page questionnaire asking them to detail what they ate and drank on board the ship in a bid to establish the cause.

The £200 million, 76,000-tonne Aurora was in the headlines in 2003 when 600 passengers and crew caught the Norovirus.

In 2005, the ship spent 11 days circling the Isle of Wight while an engine problem was repaired before a round the world cruise was abandoned.

The latest health crisis occurred after the passengers boarded the Aurora World Cruise 2008 in Southampton on January 7. The luxury vessel visited Madeira, Barbados, Venezuela, Bonaire, the Panama Canal and Acapulco before the first passenger fell ill in February.

Mrs Boughton was said to feel sick and tired before noticing her legs swell up. Over the next few days she suffered from diarrhoea before suddenly turning yellow and collapsing while the ship was sailing in the Pacific.

Husband John, 72, said: "We were in the middle of nowhere between Honolulu and Samoa - it was very frightening as she was so ill.

"Her meals were brought in on plastic plates and the cleaners wore full masks when they came in.

"She was in isolation for nine days and then a South Pacific air ambulance picked us up when we reached Auckland."

He added: "We received a letter from P&O when we got home saying there was an outbreak of hepatitis E on board.

"She has had blood tests and X-rays and we are awaiting the results."

A spokeswoman for the HPA said the other cases were confirmed a few weeks after the first case while the Aurora was returning from Australia to Britain, docking at Southampton on March 28.

She said: "The cruise has visited many locations including countries in which hepatitis E is endemic.

"The illness was most likely contracted by eating or drinking contaminated food or water during the cruise."

A spokesman for P&O said: "The HPA are dealing with this and we have no further comment to make."