A norovirus outbreak on a cruise ship in late May left 152 passengers and 25 staff members sick, according to a CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) investigation.
The virus spread rapidly through guests on the Celebrity Summit cruise ship of the company Celebrity Cruises during a voyage between May 15 and May 25. The CDC investigated and said in a statement that the predominant symptoms were diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and headache, while noting how well staff onboard took action as people became unwell.
Including this outbreak, so far this year there have been 12 notable instances of gastrointestinal illness on international cruise ships reported by the CDC. That's already significantly higher than in previous years, with 2022 seeing four instances and 2021 only one. In 2019, the year before the coronavirus pandemic hit the industry, there were 10, following 11 in both 2018 and 2017.
Newsweek has contacted Celebrity Cruises via email for comment.
The CDC's page dedicated to norovirus says it "is a very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea. Anyone can get infected and sick with norovirus. Norovirus is sometimes called the 'stomach flu' or 'stomach bug'. However, norovirus illness is not related to the flu."
The cruise ship took action after the outbreak, according to the CDC. It "increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to the ship's outbreak prevention and response plan."
The company also notified guests of the situation and encouraged illness reporting and good hand hygiene. It collected and sent stool specimens from gastrointestinal illness cases to the CDC laboratory, and provided twice daily reports of cases to VSP during the outbreak investigation."
Of the 12 cases so far in 2023, five were identified as being norovirus, while the causes of the other outbreaks remain unknown. The CDC has said that such a viral outbreak can be difficult to contain on cruises.
The CDC states: "Norovirus is the most frequent (over 90%) cause of outbreaks of diarrheal disease on cruise ships and these outbreaks often get media attention, which is why some people call norovirus the 'cruise ship virus.' However, norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships account for only a small percentage (1%) of all reported norovirus outbreaks.
"Norovirus can be especially challenging to control on cruise ships because of the close living quarters, shared dining areas, and rapid turnover of passengers. When the ship docks, norovirus can be brought on board in contaminated food or water or by passengers who were infected while ashore.
"Repeated outbreaks on consecutive cruises may also result from infected crew or environmental contamination. This is because norovirus can persist on surfaces for days or weeks and is resistant to many common disinfectants."
Update, 6/5/23, 1:30 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional CDC figures.
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Gerrard Kaonga is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter and is based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on U.S. ... Read more
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