Norovirus outbreak sickens 70 people on Princess cruise ship

Seventy people aboard a Princess Cruises ship got sick in a norovirus outbreak.
Among 1,822 passengers sailing on Coral Princess, 55 reported being ill during its current voyage along with 15 crew members, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Their main symptoms were vomiting and diarrhea.
The ship is currently operating a month-long cruise from Singapore to Los Angeles, California, according to CruiseMapper. The itinerary began on Oct. 17.
Princess implemented heightened “cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan” among other steps, the health agency said. The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program is monitoring the outbreak remotely.
The cruise line did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
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The CDC has logged 11 outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on cruise ships that met its threshold for public notification so far this year. Norovirus was listed as the causative agent in all but three instances.
While the illness is often associated with cruises, those make up just 1% of all outbreaks reported.
“There’s not something special or unique about cruise ships,” Dr. Sarah E. Hochman, a hospital epidemiologist and the section chief of infectious diseases at NYU Langone Health’s Tisch Hospital, told USA TODAY in April. “It’s really any type of congregate setting, but it’s also happening out in the community on a much smaller scale among households and household contacts. It just doesn’t come to the attention of public health as much as it does for larger congregate settings.”
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at [email protected].