B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 180; Flight Crew Total 18000; Flight Crew Type 2934.80
Physiological - Other
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness / Injury
Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification; Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition
Human Factors
Approximately an hour after reaching cruise altitude; I was advised by my lead flight attendant that we have a very sick passenger in the forward lavatory. The passenger believes he has food poisoning. He was a young male with no indications of being under the influence of alcohol; he was completely coherent. We had about three hours left in our flight and I asked the flight attendants to keep me posted on his condition. He had explosive diarrhea and was vomiting profusely. Initially; the lead flight attendant had been vomited on and she had to change her clothes and shoes. His condition continued; it never subsided; and he could not leave the forward lavatory; he was just too ill. The lead flight attendant checked on his condition several times. With the lavatory door barely cracked; the lead attendant had to give him a garbage bag to vomit in; she noticed his pants were all the way down to his ankles; completely soiled; and he was sitting on the toilet with uncontrollable diarrhea. She and the other flight attendants had to use both Infectious Control Kits to clean and contain what had oozed out of the forward lavatory onto the forward galley floor. We all felt terrible for this young man and the passengers were compassionate towards his condition. I had to make two decisions that were against SOP. Using all my available resources and emergency authority; my first decision was to leave him in the forward lavatory while we opened the cockpit door for the first officer and I to use the mid-lavatory just once before we landed. We initially refrained from doing this rest room break until we had more information about the situation and felt without a doubt this was nothing more than what it appeared to be. Dispatch and Med Link were in the loop. With the cockpit door open for just two seconds and using the cockpit door as a blocking door against the lavatory door; one cannot open the forward lavatory door without closing the cockpit door on the 737; we swapped a pilot for a flight attendant in the cockpit. My second emergency authority decision was to leave the passenger in the lavatory for landing; he told the flight attendants he was in no condition to get up and return to his seat; and we all agreed. The lavatory and forward galley floor were an infectious disaster area. The best course of action was to have EMT meet the aircraft at the gate and help this poor passenger deplane from the forward lavatory prior to the other passengers deplaning thus minimizing his exposure to everyone else. EMT was there upon our arrival to assess his condition and assist him in deplaning.
Captain reported a violently ill passenger who was unable to move out of the restroom for the entire flight including the landing.