Practically 100 passengers onboard Holland America Line’s MS Koningsdam have been hit with norovirus.
On March 11, The Facilities for Illness Management reported that 98 out of two,522 passengers and 12 out of 961 crew members grew to become sick with norovirus. The passengers’ an infection fee is 3.89% and 1.25% for crew members.
Their predominant signs had been diarrhea and vomiting. A spokesperson from the cruise line assured USA As we speak that almost all of instances weren’t severe. “The instances had been principally delicate and shortly resolving,” the assertion mentioned. “We initiated enhanced sanitation protocols to reduce additional transmission and the incidence of instances has since declined considerably.”
To include the virus, sick passengers had been quarantined whereas crew members heightened their cleansing and disinfection actions, amongst different measures.
The Pinnacle-class cruise ship is at the moment on a 35-day cruise. It left San Diego on February 17 and is scheduled to reach in Southern California on March 24. It should sail to Tahiti, Hawaii, and the Marquesas Islands throughout its voyage.
Because the variety of sick passengers reached CDC’s 3% reporting threshold early within the voyage with nicely over per week to go, extra instances could comply with.
The cruise line improved its cleansing and disinfection measures to keep away from additional contamination.
Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships in 2023
Alarm over outbreaks on cruise ships grew final 12 months as there have been extra recorded norovirus instances than in 2017 to 2019. Throughout the earlier 12 months, 13 norovirus outbreaks had been reported, most occurring between January and March 2023.
By the tip of March, 9 norovirus outbreaks had already occurred on cruise ships. In comparison with 2023, there are (up to now) fewer norovirus outbreaks this 12 months. The most recent wave of diseases on Koningsdam is simply the third outbreak of 2024 after Cunard Line’s Queen Victoria in February.
