Scoping review of infectious disease prevention, mitigation and management in passenger ships and at ports: mapping the literature to develop comprehensive and effective public health measures.

Background: With various infectious disease risks to passenger ship travellers, guidance for infectious disease prevention, mitigation and management (PMM) exists. Emerging infections and emergencies necessitate updated, context-specific guidelines and practices. New evidence for infection PMM must be translated into guidance for governmental authorities and the passenger ship industry.

Interventional Study of Nonpharmaceutical Measures to Prevent COVID-19 Aboard Cruise Ships.

Cruise ships carrying COVID-19-vaccinated populations applied near-identical nonpharmaceutical measures during July-November 2021; passenger masking was not applied on 2 ships. Infection risk for masked passengers was 14.58 times lower than for unmasked passengers and 19.

Systematic literature review and meta-analysis on preventing and controlling norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships, 1990 to 2020: calling for behaviour change strategies of travellers.

BackgroundOutbreaks of norovirus gastroenteritis aboard cruise ships may affect a large number of people, debilitate vulnerable travellers, disrupt vacations and cause economic losses to the cruise ship industry.AimWe aimed to identify risk factors for norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships and assess the effectiveness of prevention and control measures.MethodsWe conducted a systematic literature review searching PubMed and Scopus databases as well as grey literature for articles and reports describing norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships between 1990 and 2020.

Re-Starting the Cruise Sector during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Greece: Assessing Effectiveness of Port Contingency Planning.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks on board cruise ships early in the pandemic highlighted gaps worldwide in public health emergency contingency plans (PHECPs) for responding to unknown threats. To restart cruise operations in 2021 and respond to potential COVID-19 outbreaks, a major tourist-based Greek island port (Port A) developed a COVID-19 PHECP. We assessed plan effectiveness by reviewing epidemiological data and monitoring outcomes, followed by an intra-action review (IAR) analyzing three event responses.

Nationwide Survey in Greece about Knowledge, Risk Perceptions, and Preventive Behaviors for COVID-19 during the General Lockdown in April 2020.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the Greek general population toward coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the lockdown period in April 2020, to examine factors associated with misperceptions and to determine behavioral patterns that may require interventions.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of the general Greek population ( = 1858) was conducted. A geographically stratified cluster sampling was implemented.

Environmental contamination of SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces, air-conditioner and ventilation systems.

Background: COVID-19 can be transmitted directly through respiratory droplets or indirectly through fomites. SARS-CoV-2 has been detected on various environmental surfaces, air samples and sewage in hospital and community settings.

Methods: Environmental samples were collected from a ferryboat during a COVID-19 ongoing outbreak investigation and a nursing home and from three COVID-19 isolation hospital wards and a long-term care facility where asymptomatic COVID-19 cases were isolated.