Norovirus Outbreak Infects More than 200 Passengers and Crew On 29-Day Cruise to England
Over 200 passengers aboard a Cunard Line ship have been sickened following a norovirus outbreak.
Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 ship departed from Southampton, England, on March 8, before traveling to New York and the Caribbean, as part of a voyage that doesn’t conclude until April 6, per CruiseMapper.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 224 of the 2,538 passengers on the ship have fallen ill, while 17 of the 1,232 crew members are also unwell.
Norovirus is a “highly contagious infection” that is spread through contaminated food and water, according to Mayo Clinic. The CDC said passengers and crew aboard the Cunard Line ship suffered from symptoms of the infection such as diarrhea and vomiting.
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In response to the outbreak, the CDC confirmed that crew members on the ship “Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan.”
They also “collected stool specimens from gastrointestinal illness cases for testing,” while isolating ill passengers and crew.
The ship’s crew members consulted with the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) regarding sanitation cleaning procedures and reported ill cases, according to the CDC.
PEOPLE has reached out to Cunard Line for comment.
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“We have had a small number of guests on board Queen Mary 2 who have reported symptoms of gastrointestinal illness,” a Cunard spokesperson told USA TODAY in a statement. “We are continuing to closely monitor the guests and, as a precaution, completed a comprehensive deep clean of the ship and immediately activated our enhanced health and safety protocols, which are proving to be effective.”
The report comes after the CDC shared on March 31, that 12 of the 461 passengers on Seabourn Cruise Line’s Seabourn Encore ship fell ill due to a norovirus outbreak. Among the crew members, 22 of the 405 were also unwell.
The ship, which began sailing on March 16, is scheduled to conclude on April 9.
PEOPLE has contacted Seabourn Cruise Line for comment.
