Over 100 Sick On Caribbean Princess Due To Norovirus (Image: AFP)
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 100 individuals became sick because of a norovirus outbreak which occurred on a Princess Cruises ship. The agency reported that 102 passengers and 13 crew members became sick on the ship on Thursday. To stop the spread of the highly infectious gastrointestinal virus authorities have put travelers who contracted the virus into quarantine. The incident has raised fresh concerns about how infection control procedures function when large cruise ships travel through highly populated international waters.
People mostly encounter norovirus which is a highly contagious virus that causes vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, and nausea. The disease shows mild symptoms which will resolve by themselves but it spreads rapidly through direct contact situations that occur on cruise ships and in healthcare facilities. The close living conditions and shared spaces on cruise ships make norovirus the most frequent cause of gastrointestinal outbreaks which occur on those ships. The operation of the system experiences interruptions when outbreaks happen because the staff needs to complete extensive cleaning to address the situation.
The Caribbean Princess cruise ship departed from Port Everglades in Florida on April 28. The ship with 3,116 passengers and 1,131 crew members will be on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, picking up passengers in Nassau, Bahamas, before arriving back in Florida on Monday. The Princess Cruises company reported that their passengers experienced mild gastrointestinal problems which led them to implement new onboard cleaning protocols that prevented further spread of the illness.
The cruise line established a quarantine for all passengers and crew members who tested positive during the outbreak, while the cruise line conducted ‘intense cleaning’ of the entire ship according to their statement. The company announced that all ship areas will undergo complete cleaning and sanitization after the vessel arrives at the port for its upcoming cruise. The health officials are working with the CDC to find out where the outbreak started which they are currently investigating.
The incident comes as people are growing more concerned about the health safety measures taken on cruise ships following recent outbreaks of gastrointestinal and viral diseases. The Star Princess, a Princess Cruises cruise ship, had a new virus outbreak in March which led to a nearly 200 infections. The CDC reported that 18 outbreak ships from the previous year showed over 2200 norovirus cases. The officials state that norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships happen rarely because they represent only 1 percent of all US outbreaks which occur annually at 2500 to 2600 cases. CDC staff members are monitoring the developing situation while they recommend that travelers maintain proper hygiene practices to decrease their travel related risk.
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