A US warship has essentially been quarantined at sea for over two months, say the US Navy.

US media have been reporting that affected sailors on the USS Fort McHenry were quarantined while symptomatic. They were treated in the ship’s medical facilities and spaces were cleaned and disinfected.

The cause is believed to be a viral infection that has symptoms similar to mumps.

“All service members on board also received booster vaccinations for measles, mumps, and rubella, as a precaution.”

It is understood that the initial case was detected on December 22nd and there have been no active cases since February 27th.

The US Navy also say the ship’s operational schedule has been modified while crew health is being monitored.

In January, the ship transited from the Mediterranean Sea through the Dardanelles Strait and entered the Black Sea, later visiting the Romanian port of Constanța, a major base for the Romanian Navy.

The ship was part of the USS Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group and was carrying the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

USS Fort McHenry is a Whidbey Island class dock landing ship of the United States Navy. She was named for Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, Maryland, the 1814 defence of which inspired The Star-Spangled Banner.

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George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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Rfn_Weston
Rfn_Weston
5 years ago

Hmmm, Black Sea? I bet Russia has tested a new biological agent on them! The swines!!! 😛

Herodotus
5 years ago

Used to call it ‘Squeezing-Up’ in my day!

Alex T
Alex T
5 years ago
Reply to  Herodotus

Bow to stern?

Elliott
Elliott
5 years ago

According to the USN they caught parotitis (some form of mumps).

Herodotus
5 years ago
Reply to  Elliott

‘Parotitis’ is this constantly saying ‘who’s a pretty boy then’? Could be awkward in the navy!!

Jonathan
Jonathan
5 years ago
Reply to  Elliott

Parotitis this the overarching description, basicily an inflammation of the parotid glands, it has multiple different etiology. Main causes bacterial ( TB is the classic) or viral (mumps or HIV are the classics here). I’m not sure on the vaccination programs in the states ( but I’m sure they are comparable to the UK) and mumps is generally a once only childhood disease. So having a ship full of adults with a mumps like virus is extremely concerning. I’ve not heard of any mumps like viruses ( other than mumps) that is considered a notifiable disease, which would be the… Read more »

Herodotus
5 years ago
Reply to  Jonathan

Interesting that you link TB. My uncle was a marine on the Renown…contracted TB onboard. I guess that a shipboard environment is ideal for contagious diseases…especially back in WW2!

Elliott
Elliott
5 years ago
Reply to  Jonathan

Apparently 25 got sick out of about 750 sailors. Of them 24 have recovered and they are waiting on the final one to end quarantine.
The more irritating thing is if this is really all over mumps that is a vaccine you get in kindergarten in most US States. So the vaccinations performed on entrance to service or when going on deployment don’t include it.

Jonathan
Jonathan
5 years ago
Reply to  Elliott

Interesting did the US have the same MMR vaccine scare crap going around the media about 20 years ago that the UK did ? It could explained why so many people got hit by mumps on the ship.

Sad thing for them is if they are young men there is a good chance they now can’t have kids, and thats all on their parents listened to some media shit.

Vaccines are a blessing, gnore them at your children’s peril.

andy reeves
andy reeves
5 years ago
Reply to  Jonathan

if it sterilizes them, then ther’ell be a lot less ‘fatties’ in the future

Elliott
Elliott
5 years ago
Reply to  Elliott

Yes we did. Mostly concentrated on the West Coast which is currently having issues with everything from measles (which we had eradicated) to meningitis and mumps. The South, Midwest, and Eastern States all fixed the anti-vaxers wagon by simply making it law they couldn’t use the school or university system without being vaccinated.
So yes that is likely how they got sick. They likely either came from California, Oregon, or Washington State. That or as sometimes occurs or it was one of the immigrant entries to the service who got sick then spread it to the unvaccinated.

Jonathan
Jonathan
5 years ago
Reply to  Elliott

The idea of not letting them in school without vaccines is a good one, as it protects that very small number of kids where the vaccine does not work.

GUNBUSTER
GUNBUSTER
5 years ago

KERSARGEis in the Gulf …I was on it a couple of weeks ago… Having Fort Mc Henry as part of the ready group in the black sea is a bit of a stretch…

chaz baz
5 years ago

Zombie Apocalypse…………

Someone has to say it. AAAHHHHHH

LOL

Jonny
5 years ago

So one of the sailors was antivax?

Keithdwat
Keithdwat
5 years ago

Anyone ever seen the last ship here??

SoleSurvivor
SoleSurvivor
5 years ago
Reply to  Keithdwat

Yeah every series, Tom Chandler is a legend, gutted its finished.

andy reeves
andy reeves
5 years ago
Reply to  Keithdwat

won’t stop them scrounging off you tho when i had mumps and loved the time off school!

andy reeves
andy reeves
5 years ago

that’s what happens when you too many big macs