115 sick in norovirus outbreak on Princess cruise ship in Caribbean
At least 115 passengers and crew members have fallen ill in a norovirus outbreak aboard a Princess Cruises ship traveling in the Caribbean, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The outbreak was reported to the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program on Thursday during a Caribbean Princess voyage that began April 28 and is scheduled to end May 11. There are 3,116 passengers and 1,131 crew members on board.
A total of 102 passengers and 13 crew members have reported being sick, according to the CDC. The main symptoms are diarrhea and vomiting, and the agency identified norovirus as the cause.
The ship was north of the Dominican Republic and heading toward Nassau in the Bahamas as of Saturday afternoon, NBC News reported, citing CruiseMapper.
Princess Cruises said a “limited number of individuals reported mild gastrointestinal illness” during the voyage from Port Everglades in Florida, according to NBC News. “We quickly disinfected every area of the ship and added extra sanitizing throughout the voyage.”
The CDC said the cruise line and crew increased cleaning and disinfection procedures, collected stool specimens for testing, isolated sick passengers and crew, and consulted with the Vessel Sanitation Program about sanitation procedures and reporting cases.
The agency said it is conducting a field response for an environmental assessment and outbreak investigation to help the ship control the outbreak.
The Caribbean Princess outbreak is the fourth gastrointestinal illness outbreak on a cruise ship under CDC jurisdiction so far this year.
Another norovirus outbreak aboard Princess Cruises’ Star Princess in March sickened nearly 200 passengers and crew members, while two other outbreaks this year were linked to E. coli on Regent Seven Seas and Oceania Cruises ships.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
