A cruise ship that has dealt with a norovirus outbreak earlier this year is experiencing another bout with the pathogen that commonly causes contagious gastrointestinal illness marked by diarrhea and vomiting.
The Princess Cruises' Crown Princess Ship, which sailed to Tahiti and Hawaii over the past month, docked in San Pedro, Southern California on Sunday, where it was greeted by officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after nearly 170 of its passengers and crews on board fell it because of the stomach bug.
Norovirus is a highly infectious virus that can spread through touching of contaminated surfaces, contaminated food or water, and from an infected person. Infection is marked by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and, in some instances, loss of taste.
While being struck by the virus can be a painful and uncomfortable experience, severe illness is rare and those infected can recover within a few days. Outbreak often occurs among those living in closed quarters such as prisons, dormitories and cruise ships, where the disease can easily spread due to contaminated food or contact with infected individuals.
Passengers of the Crown Princess started exhibiting symptoms of norovirus infection a few days into the ship's month long journey from Oct. 18 to Nov. 16. Of the 3,009 passengers, 158 feel ill during the voyage. Fourteen of the 1,160 crews were also struck by the virus.
In a statement, the CDC said that the ship has observed its recommended sanitation procedures to slow the spread of the disease. Princess Cruises also notified the passengers onboard about the outbreak to promote hygiene and case reporting. All of those infected were treated on the ship and none fortunately needed hospitalization when the ship docked at the port.
"Over the last few days, the ship began seeing an increased number of gastrointestinal illnesses, caused by norovirus," said Princess Cruises' spokeswoman Susan Lomax. "In response, we have enacted our stringent disinfecting protocols."
Lomax added that the ship will go through deep cleaning before it will embark on another voyage to cruise the Mexican Riviera on Sunday night. The passengers who are about to board the ship on its next journey are also being alerted of the outbreak before they check in.
In April earlier this year, the Crown Princess also experienced a Norovirus outbreak with 150 people of the people on board falling ill. The latest outbreak is the company's fourth since 2012.
