The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that hundreds of people aboard a Princess Cruises ship became ill in the span of a week.
A mysterious illness affected more than 300 passengers on the February 26–March 5 Ruby Princess cruise from Texas to Mexico. Investigators from the CDC found that 284 out of a total of 2,881 cruise passengers reported feeling ill during the trip.
Of the total crew of 1,154, 34 said they were sick. They had stomach issues that caused them to vomit and have diarrhea.
After arriving in Texas on March 5, epidemiologists and environmental health officers from the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program began their investigation into the mysterious outbreak.
Epidemiologists and health officials haven’t pinpointed the root of the problem yet.
The cruise line attempted to head off the spread of the infections by cleaning and disinfecting the ship more frequently than usual. They also took stool samples to send to the CDC for analysis.
According to a Princess Cruises representative, employees also requested that passengers remain in their rooms. A company statement tentatively blamed norovirus for the sickness outbreak.
Norovirus causes severe outbreaks of vomiting and diarrhea and is very contagious. As the leading cause of diarrheal illness on cruise ships, it is commonly referred to as the “cruise ship virus.”
According to the cruise company, the ship started a new journey a few days later. New passengers on the Ruby Princess, setting sail for the Caribbean for seven days, were informed by the cruise line about the illness that had plagued the previous voyage.
The Ruby Princess has been the center of media attention before, also because of an epidemic. There were hundreds of infected passengers on board when the ship docked in Australia in 2020, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It’s not clear if anyone who got sick on the recent trip ended up in the hospital.
Stool samples are being examined by the CDC to identify the illness’s source.
According to the CDC, recent data shows that outbreaks of norovirus and case numbers are increasing but are still within the expected range of cases for this time of the year, and there is no reason for the public to be overly concerned.
