BLACK WATCH passengers test for Legionnaires Disease - ship clear
Ship found to be clear - possibility fountain water in St Petersburg to blame

 

Two passengers from the Fred Olsen cruise ship BLACK WATCH have been confirmed as having Legionnaires Disease.

Black Watch left Dover on 15th July on a 17 night cruise to Lapland and St Petersburg and was due to arrive back in Dover on Wednesday, 1st August 2007 with 756 passengers and 329 crew on board but was cut short after seven passengers fell ill with 'flu-like symptoms' and were taken to a Stockholm hospital.

The ship returned to Dover yesterday.

Passengers say they were aware of the illnesses after the ship had visited St Petersburg and that it was possible the waters of the fountains there had made them unwell.

The two affected passengers are British. Most of the passengers on board come from the UK and aged over sixty.

Fred Olsen say they regard the health and safety of its passengers and crew as the highest priority and would take all steps necessary to eradicate all trace of any infection that may be found on the ship.

However tests of the ship's water at Stockholm proved negative.

The company said it is in regular contact with Regional and Port Health Authorities regarding the procedures planned in order to ensure that the ship does not represent any risk to the health of passengers or crew.  The ship's spas and pools were closed as a precaution and the ship is now undergoing a rigorous programme to eliminate any bugs that might be on board.

Other passengers who fell ill have been taken to hospitals in the UK. It is not exactly known what is wrong with them.

Legionnaires Disease is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia caused by a water-borne bacterium Legionella pneumophila and can be particularly dangerous for older people or those already unwell.