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A US Navy warship deployed in the Persian Gulf has been quarantined at sea for more than two months due to a virus outbreak, a rare initiative revealed Wednesday by the US Navy after a CNN investigation .
Parotitis, a viral infection with symptoms similar to mumps, has been prevalent in the USS Fort McHenry, a Whidbey Island class wharf, affecting a total of 25 sailors and Marines. The symptoms of the disease appeared for the first time in December of last year.
The sick seamen were quarantined aboard the ship and treated in the medical facilities on board while their living quarters were cleaned and disinfected. CNN said Wednesday afternoon that US warships spend more than two months at sea without passing through a port.
"None of these cases are life threatening and all have already done or should be completely recovered," Fleet said in a statement sent to Business Insider. Since the first case was detected at the end of last year, 24 of the 25 infected people have returned to work.
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The US Navy told Business Insider that the port calls had been canceled, allowing the vessel to be quarantined at sea while the medical teams were working to control the situation. By being cautious, it was determined that the approximately 700 members of the Fort McHenry services would be vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella.
Viral parotitis is an infection of the salivary glands located on either side of the face and usually caused by mumps, which can be prevented by vaccination.
Fort McHenry, which houses elements of the 22nd Maritime Shipping Unit, is currently operating in the Persian Gulf. A US military medical team specializing in preventive care will be deployed soon to Fort McHenry to evaluate the health of the crew and the MEU.
A spokeswoman for the US Navy told Business Insider that a ship looked like a college dorm, a locker room or even a freshman class. People live nearby and illnesses go around from time to time, but this situation is quite unusual. The Navy said that she thought she had a good idea of the situation.
As only a small portion of the crew was affected by the virus, routine unit-level training continued with some changes to training schedules.
CNN reported that the Navy had made no mention of the virus outbreak aboard Fort McHenry until the point of sale requested it.
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