{"id":22323,"date":"2019-03-14T00:06:05","date_gmt":"2019-03-14T00:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/03\/14\/us-warship-sails-the-arabian-sea-avoiding-port-killing-time-and-germs\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:12:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:12:02","slug":"us-warship-sails-the-arabian-sea-avoiding-port-killing-time-and-germs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/03\/14\/us-warship-sails-the-arabian-sea-avoiding-port-killing-time-and-germs\/","title":{"rendered":"US warship sails the Arabian Sea, avoiding port, killing time … and germs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For the past three months, the crew of the dock landing ship Fort McHenry<\/a> has been stuck at sea, avoiding port because of an outbreak of disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Navy officials bristle at the mention of a \u201cquarantine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They point out that only 25 of more than 700 sailors and Marines have been diagnosed with viral parotitis<\/a>, an infection that triggers symptoms similar to mumps, with fever, dehydration and chills reported in about 3.5 percent of the service members on board the Florida-based warship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, they say that \u201cFort McHenry\u2019s operational schedule has been modified while the ship\u2019s medical team monitors crew health,\u201d according to a prepared statement by the 5th Fleet that was recirculated by the Navy\u2019s Chief of Information Office at the Pentagon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The release doesn\u2019t detail how Fort McHenry\u2019s schedule has been modified and sets no deadline for when the crew will be cleared to make a port call but indicated that \u201cout of an abundance of caution\u201d personnel have vaccinated all those on board with “measles, mumps and rubella booster vaccinations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Navy spokesman Lt. Clint Ramsden added that at no time has the illness jeopardized the ability of the warship to perform its missions in some of the world\u2019s most volatile waterways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fort McHenry is currently plying the Arabian Sea<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\t