H1N1 Influenza sends cruise ship home early to Aruba

A cruise ship hit by a swine flu outbreak arrived back at home port to the buzz of helicopters and a swarm of masked medical workers on Friday as health authorities tried to prevent the illness from spreading, according to a report by the Associated Press.



The Dutch territory\'s Health Ministry said it was examining passengers and crew as a precaution. Three crew members have tested positive for the H1N1 influenza and 11 others showed symptoms, prompting the Ocean Dream to cut short its Caribbean cruise.



Helicopters buzzed overhead and Coast Guard boats flanked the ship as passengers waited to disembark into the cruise terminal. Nearly a dozen health officials shrouded in white clothes and wearing masks checked them for symptoms.



\"You come back from a cruise, you\'re on vacation, and it feels like you\'re on a boat full of lepers,\" said Isabel Duque, 48, of Madrid.



She said crew members had been working overtime. \"Their mental state has changed,\" she said. \"Their faces are not the same, they don\'t have the joy they had at the beginning. These poor people seem like zombies.\"



The Ocean Dream arrived back in its homeport early today and Health Ministry officials said it would take several hours to check the roughly 400 passengers and an equal number of crew for basic flu signs such as cough and fever.