Latest Norovirus Outbreaks On Cruise Ships

The 13 Worst Norovirus Outbreaks on Cruise Ships.

Latest norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships. Norovirus on your ship can ruin a cruise. With cruise guests embarking and disembarking ships there is a chance new passenger arrivals may bring the virus onboard and the close living quarters can also increase the contact. In the same week ProMED reported a viral gastroenteritis outbreak on a Dutch-owned cruise ship operating out of the United Kingdom 7.

Norovirus outbreaks can occur on cruise ships when people bring the virus on to the ship and pass it on to others. On this 10-night cruise 534 out of 3071 206 passengers or crew reported being ill. The Cruise Lines International Association CLIA said statistics show the risk of getting norovirus on land is one in 15.

Norovirus out-breaks on cruise ships are not normally reported to national. The worst outbreak is of course Royal Caribbeans Explorer but the cruise line and its sister line Celebrity Cruises have the top. An outbreak on the Norwegian Gem during which 111 passengers and 3 crew members became ill November 2013.

Its proving difficult to keep track of gastroenteritis outbreaks on cruise ships these days with 6 outbreaks being reported in Australian waters within the last 12 months. The VWA had been notified of suspected norovirus outbreaks on 3 cruise ships operating in the Netherlands in the previous month. We included eligible studies published from January 1990 to July 2013 that were written in English and described infectious episodes involving at least two passengers andor crewmembers on a commercial cruise ship.

Historically cruise ships have managed and controlled occasional gastrointestinal GI and respiratory disease outbreaks including common pathogens such as norovirus hepatitis E. How to avoid norovirus on cruise ships. As the only national or international body tracking norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships the CDC reports favorably on the cruise industrys efforts toward minimizing the spread of outbreaks in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report titled Acute Gastroenteritis on Cruise Ships United States 2008-2014 A few highlights.

On a ship its one in 5500. Norovirus can easily be brought on board when ships dock and due to its ability to persist on surfaces can infect consecutive cruises Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2014. A Princess Cruises ship was forced to abandon the rest of its sailing for the second time this month after hundreds of passengers and crew members were diagnosed with norovirus.