DNYUZ
  • Home
  • News
    • U.S.
    • World
    • Politics
    • Opinion
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Science
  • Entertainment
    • Culture
    • Music
    • Movie
    • Television
    • Theater
    • Gaming
    • Sports
  • Tech
    • Apps
    • Autos
    • Gear
    • Mobile
    • Startup
  • Lifestyle
    • Arts
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel
No Result
View All Result
DNYUZ
No Result
View All Result
Home Lifestyle Health

Unsupervised Poop and Vomit on the Seas: Trump Administration Guts Team in Charge of Inspecting Sanitation on Ships

April 15, 2025
in Health, News
Unsupervised Poop and Vomit on the Seas: Trump Administration Guts Team in Charge of Inspecting Sanitation on Ships
503
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The cuts. The Trump administration recently laid off all of the full-time employees in the Vessel Sanitation Program, CBS News reported. The cuts are part of a plan by Robert F. Kennedy, the Health and Human Services Secretary, to address the “waste” in his department and “eliminate redundancies.”

Kennedy’s plan calls for eliminating 20,000 of the department’s 82,000 full-time employees, which is expected to save $1.8 billion per year. Importantly, the Vessel Sanitation Program is not funded by taxpayer dollars, but rather by fees paid by cruise ship companies for the program.

The Vessel Sanitation Program. Designed to prevent large numbers of people from getting sick, the Vessel Sanitation Program carries out health inspections in several areas, including medical centers, potable water systems, galleys and dining rooms, swimming pools, and pest management.

When analyzing potable water systems, for instance, inspectors review the potable water system to ensure it’s safe. In the galleys and dining rooms, meanwhile, they check to make sure food is being stored, handled, and served safely and evaluate employees’ health and personal hygiene.

According to CBS News, the CDC serves as the only health department to regulate these issues for many ships. The program carried out roughly 200 inspections on cruise ships during the last fiscal year.

Questionable timing. The cuts to the Vessel Sanitation Program come at a questionable time. The cruise industry is booming, with more 19 million Americans expected to take a cruise in 2025, according to AAA. This year is expected to mark the third straight year of “record cruise passenger volume,” the group said.

But passengers aren’t the only thing that’s increasing: Gastrointestinal illnesses are, too. With 16 reported outbreaks, CDC data revealed that 2024 had been the worst year for stomach bugs on cruise ships, such as norovirus and E. coli, in over a decade.

2025 isn’t faring much better. There’s already been 12 reported outbreaks on cruises this years, CDC data show.

Assurances and doubts. Although all the program’s full-time employees have been let go, including the epidemiologist in charge of leading outbreak response, the Trump administration has insisted that the CDC’s program will continue to be able to inspect cruise ships.

An administration official stated that many commissioned officers with the U.S. Public Health Service had not been affected by the layoffs. However, former CDC employees are skeptical that the Vessel Sanitation Program can work as it was intended to now.

A Millionaire Has Been Living on Cruise Ships for 25 Years. His Bank Account Hasn’t Suffered, but His Balance Has

“None of the civilian staff are there to support them. So, I don’t know how long they will be able to sustain their mission alone without any support,” Erik Svendsen, the former head of the CDC’s Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice. Svendsen’s division was recently eliminated in the cuts.

Images | Peter Hansen | Sheila Jellison

Related | Meet the ‘Tesla of the Seas,’ a Start-Up That Wants to Reinvent Container Ships With Sails

The post Unsupervised Poop and Vomit on the Seas: Trump Administration Guts Team in Charge of Inspecting Sanitation on Ships appeared first on Xataka On.

Share201Tweet126Share
Stephanie Johnson, Burlesque Dancer With Stories to Tell, Dies at 81
News

Stephanie Johnson, Burlesque Dancer With Stories to Tell, Dies at 81

by New York Times
October 21, 2025

Stephanie Johnson, who performed as a burlesque dancer in New York in the 1960s and ’70s under the stage name ...

Read more
News

Mike Trout testifies in Tyler Skaggs wrongful death trial

October 21, 2025
News

Trump’s Hungary meeting with Putin is off

October 21, 2025
News

Why Mamdani Frightens Jews Like Me

October 21, 2025
Canada

Will Canada buy German-made submarines?

October 21, 2025
Trump admin seeks to dissolve remaining order blocking troop deployment to Portland

Trump admin seeks to dissolve remaining order blocking troop deployment to Portland

October 21, 2025
James Wan’s Atomic Monster Lands Julie Soto’s YA Thriller Novel ‘The Thrashers’ For Series Adaptation

James Wan’s Atomic Monster Lands Julie Soto’s YA Thriller Novel ‘The Thrashers’ For Series Adaptation

October 21, 2025
Trump seeks up to $230M from Justice Department over Russia investigation, Mar-a-Lago raid

Trump seeks up to $230M from Justice Department over Russia investigation, Mar-a-Lago raid

October 21, 2025

Copyright © 2025.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • U.S.
    • World
    • Politics
    • Opinion
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Science
  • Entertainment
    • Culture
    • Gaming
    • Music
    • Movie
    • Sports
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Tech
    • Apps
    • Autos
    • Gear
    • Mobile
    • Startup
  • Lifestyle
    • Arts
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel

Copyright © 2025.