The inspection of international cruise ships.

To the Editor.— The "Blue Sheet," the summary for Health Information for International Travel, published biweekly by Centers for Disease Control (CDC), has provided information on inspection of international cruise ships, indicating which of these vessels pass or fail the CDC sanitation standards. As part of the "economy" drive by the current administration, the CDC plans to discontinue this inspection service. The results of the last inspection were published in the "Blue Sheet" of May 9, 1986. Twenty-eight (41.8%) of 67 vessels failed inspection. I think the decision to discontinue the inspection service by the Public Health Service is unwise and in the long term will be costly. According to data from the CDC, outbreaks of foodand water-borne diseases are not unusual aboard ship and have included outbreaks of typhoid fever, viral gastroenteritis, shigellosis, and Vibrio parahemolyticus infection (CDC Water-Related Disease Outbreaks Surveillance, annual summary 1983, issued September 1984). The