EPIDEMIC OF ILLNESS
By Bob Van Leer

  (AT SEA, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2001) - Yesterday I got a chance to question Capt. Tony Yeomans about what has to be called an epidemic of illness on this ship. I had been getting stone-walling from cruise personnel.

  The captain estimated that about half of the officers and crew and just slightly less of the passengers had come down with the illness, which he said had been identified as a virus. Betty and I have escaped this one, but have had other problems (upper respiratory and diarrhea). The illness is somewhat flu-like with diarrhea and some nausea that puts people down and they stay down for a day or two.

  Yeomans said they have investigated the food supply and the chain of handling without success. He said it is his "gut instinct" that the virus "walked up the gangway at Dakar". It is spread by contact contamination, which is easy on the ship. For instance, at home hand rails are often not used by people, but with the ship rolling, everyone here does, and a ship is a small area with a lot of people in it. Yeomans said they are getting it under control. All touch surfaces are being wiped by the crew constantly. At the buffet, we no longer touch anything, just point and it is served.

  There has been more illness on this trip than any that Betty and I have taken since one to Manaus, Brazil. And it is likely more than coincidence that area is tropic jungle also.

  We crossed the equator yesterday with a suitable ceremony. Passengers were spectators as crew members were anointed with eggs, cooked spaghetti and orange juice. Even the captain was dunked in to the pool.

  We are not far east of the Greenwich meridian where your position in 0-0-0-0. This is our longest run at sea, four days and 1899 nautical miles from Cotonou, Benin, to Walvis Bay, Namibia. We are bypassing politically-unsettled hot spots such as Nigeria, Republic of Congo and Angola.