Africa: From Medieval Plague Ships to Hantavirus - How Outbreaks At Sea Helped to Shape the International Public Health System

[The Conversation Africa] Cruise ships are convenient floating hotels by which to see far-flung parts of the world - but as an epidemiologist, I know they are also everything an infectious pathogen could want: thousands of strangers packed into enclosed spaces for days or weeks, sharing dining rooms and high-touch surfaces such as elevator buttons and handrails, breathing recirculated air.