Over 150 cruise company and crew sick after norovirus outbreak | EUROtoday

More than 150 passengers and crew aboard Princess Cruises’ Star Princess ship have been reported sick this week in what well being officers have confirmed was an outbreak of norovirus.

The outbreak occurred throughout a seven‑night time cruise that departed Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on March 7 and was scheduled to return to Port Everglades on Saturday.

Of the 4,307 passengers on the cruise, 104 reported falling unwell in the course of the present voyage, together with 49 crew members, in response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated. Most skilled vomiting and diarrhea.

Princess Cruises stated in an announcement to USA Today that sanitation groups had “disinfected every area of the ship and added extra sanitizing throughout the voyage,” and that people feeling unwell have been saved separate so they might “rest comfortably in private.”

The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program can also be conducting an environmental evaluation and outbreak investigation to help in controlling the state of affairs because the Star Princess continues its scheduled itinerary again to Florida, the CDC stated.

The Independent has contacted Princess Cruises for remark.

Norovirus is a extremely contagious virus that causes abdomen flu–like signs and is commonly linked to foodborne sickness. It spreads particularly simply in locations the place persons are in shut quarters, which makes cruise ships a typical setting for outbreaks.

The virus is so contagious as a result of it solely takes a tiny quantity to make somebody sick. Infected folks shed huge numbers of virus particles of their stool and vomit, which might then be picked up by others. Norovirus primarily spreads by means of the fecal-oral route, that means virus particles from one individual might be ingested by one other.

The CDC has already reported two gastrointestinal sickness outbreaks on cruise ships this 12 months that met the brink for public notification.

By comparability, there have been 23 cruise ship outbreaks in 2025, with 17 linked to norovirus, and norovirus was accountable for 15 of the 18 complete outbreaks in 2024.

Although norovirus is usually related to cruise ships, such outbreaks account for less than about 1 p.c of all reported norovirus outbreaks nationwide, the CDC says.

While it’s not possible to get rid of the danger of norovirus, folks can considerably decrease their probabilities of getting sick by washing fingers totally and infrequently, particularly earlier than meals, avoiding shared meals, drinks, or utensils, limiting contact with communal surfaces and steering away from areas the place somebody has vomited.

Anyone exhibiting signs of gastroenteritis on a cruise ought to alert medical employees instantly and observe their directions. Passengers could also be requested to stay of their cabins quickly to stop the virus from spreading to others, the CDC says.