Over 100 passengers and crew reported contracting norovirus while sailing on the Caribbean Princess cruise ship, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At least 102 passengers and 13 crew members tested positive from the outbreak, as of the Thursday announcement. That accounts for approximately 3.3% of passengers and 1.2% of crew.
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Norovirus is a highly infectious illness that causes gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting or diarrhea. Cruise lines are required to report outbreaks to the CDC, and this announcement comes days after the World Health Organization reported an outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship that set sail from Argentina.
In response to the norovirus cases, the cruise line said they increased cleaning and disinfecting procedures, collected stool specimens from cases being treated, isolated the infected passengers and crew, and consulted the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program to make sure they followed the correct guidelines.
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“VSP is conducting a field response for an environmental assessment and outbreak investigation to assist the ship in controlling the outbreak,” the CDC said in the announcement.
The ship, which holds over 3,000 passengers total, departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on April 28 and will arrive back in the state on May 11. The voyage took passengers to the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, and other Caribbean islands. It’s currently north of Turks and Caicos, headed back to the U.S., according to Cruise Mapper.
