The Vessel Sanitation Program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that norovirus has spread to dozens of people on a cruise ship that left from Florida.
Based on the tracking site cruisemapper.com, the Eurodam from Holland America Line departed Port Everglades, Florida, on February 19. The trip is set to last 10 days and visit several places in the Caribbean before coming back to Florida on March 1.
The Vessel Sanitation Program says that 2k7 passengers and 834 crew members are on board the 12-deck vessel and that 79 passengers and 9 crew members have said they are sick.
The Vessel Sanitation Program said that diarrhea and vomiting are the most common complaints. The ship’s crew tightened up on cleaning and disinfecting, put sick guests and crew members in separate areas, and took stool samples for testing, the program said. The crew will keep in touch with the Vessel Sanitation Program to get advice on how to keep the ship clean and to report any new illnesses.
“While the Eurodam was on its current trip, some of its passengers reported stomach problems.” Holland America Line told CBS News in a statement that most of the cases were minor and were quickly taken care of. “We initiated enhanced sanitation protocols in conjunction with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to minimize further transmission, including continuous disinfection of the ship.”
Norovirus makes people throw up and have diarrhea. It is very common. The CDC says that most people who get it feel better in one to three days, but they are still contagious for a few days after that. Patients may also feel sick, have stomach pain, fever, headaches, and body aches, in addition to vomiting and diarrhea. Patients might also lose water.
All over the United States, the number of people getting the norovirus has gone up this year. The number of cases got more than twice as high as it was last year during a winter wave, the CDC said in January.
Another case of norovirus has been found on a Holland America Line ship this month. Based on cruisemapper.com, the Rotterdam was the second cruise ship to leave Port Everglades on February 2. The Vessel Sanitation Program said that 19 crew members and 166 guests said they were sick.
Three more norovirus cases on cruise ships have been looked into by the Vessel Sanitation Program this year. It said that an outbreak on the Princess Cruises ship Coral Princess in January made 128 guests and 20 crew members sick. In another outbreak, 62 guests and 9 crew members on the Viking Mars from Viking Ocean Cruises were sick. The first case of norovirus that the Vessel Sanitation Program looked into this year happened on a different Holland America Line ship. The Vessel Sanitation Program said that 93 passengers and 11 staff members on the Volendam got sick.
