MORE than 150 passengers and crew members are sick aboard a cruise ship following an outbreak of norovirus.
The Princess Cruises’ Star Princess ship is scheduled to return to Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades in Florida today.
Those who are ill from the highly contagious virus have been isolated on the ship to prevent further spread.
Norovirus is associated with cruise ships due to their close quarters.
The most common symptoms of the virus are vomiting and diarrhea.
The Star Princess took off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on March 7 for a seven-night cruise.
It is currently sailing a Caribbean cruise with 4,307 passengers aboard.
But a sudden outbreak of norovirus spread across the ship with 104 passengers and 49 crew members falling ill.
The ship’s sanitation team has disinfected the ship and isolated sick people while at sea.
In response to the outbreak, the company and its crew increased cleaning and disinfection procedures aboard the ship.
They also collected stool specimens from sick passengers and crew for testing.
It has now returned to a port in Florida where the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is conducting an environmental assessment.
It will investigate the outbreak and tend to the needs of those who are sick.
In a statement to USA TODAY, the cruise line said: “We quickly disinfected every area of the ship and added extra sanitizing throughout the voyage.
“We also separated anyone feeling unwell so they could rest comfortably in private – just an added precaution to help keep the rest of our guests and crew feeling their best.”
Norovirus is a stomach bug that causes symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea.
It is a common virus to spread on cruise ships because people are in close quarters.
It can survive on railings, door handles, and buttons for days and weeks, and is difficult to eliminate without specific sanitation protocols.
Princess Cruises has been approached for comment.
