On April 25-27, 2022, CARPHA’s Regional Tourism and Health Program (THP) and the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC-VSP) attended the Seatrade Cruise Global Conference in Miami, USA, to lend their support to key Maritime partners and strengthen stakeholder partnerships within the Cruise Ship Industry. Through the partnership with CDC-VSP, CARPHA-THP, via its real-time, early-warning alert system, the Caribbean Vessel Surveillance System (CVSS), is able to guide CARPHA Member States (CMS) in their surveillance and response to travel-related public health issues occurring among persons abroad passenger ships in the Caribbean. Through CVSS, these alerts have led CMS to be better informed at making decisions surrounding practique, isolate sick persons, allow entry with only well persons, prevent spread of illness and avoid medical evacuations from ships to CMS with already low and depleted resources.
The CVSS, funded by CDC, is an electronic, data sharing platform, created to capture illness information, particularly disease outbreaks, in real or near-real time on passenger vessels. It also aims to enhance monitoring and response to syndromic surveillance on board cruise ships to improve and expedite medical responses to illness. Since its inception in October 2021, 1000 alerts have been sent by CVSS to CMS.