Carnival Corp. Searching for Source of Illness Outbreak at Grand Turk Cruise Center

Carnival Corp. is excavating the sewage system at the Grand Turk Cruise Center in the Turks & Caicos in a search for the cause of a recent outbreak of gastrointestinal illnesses on the island, according to local press reports.  The cruise ship company has told local workers it will keep the port of call closed until the cause of the illnesses is found, the reports say.

Meanwhile local residents attribute the illness outbreak to “ground adjacent to the port which was saturated was with sewage water,” two years ago, according to an article on the Caribbean News Now website. Grand Turk residents working at the port have previously complained about persistent foul odors at one portion of the complex, the article says.

Nevertheless, the Turks & Caicos government has reported that the public water supply is safe and “without any contaminants likely to cause illness” following water sampling tests performed following the cruise port’s closure. Furthermore, the island’s health ministry recently reported a decrease “in the number of cases of diarrhea and vomiting” on the island.

Last week officials at Carnival, which owns the port, said the company is investigating a potential link between the outbreak and the “consumption of food and beverages while guests were ashore in Grand Turk.”

Source: Travel Pulse, http://www.travelpulse.com/carnival-corp-searching-for-source-of-illness-outbreak-at-grand-turk-cruise-center.html