Sixty-eight passengers and one crew member on board Holland America Cruise line vessel, Volendam, were stricken with norovirus, according to federal health officials.
During a voyage from July 12-19, 68 of 1,480 (4.59%) passengers and 1 of 610 (0.16%) crew were reported as ill with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea.
Norovirus has been identified as the causative agent of the outbreak.
In response to the outbreak, Holland America and the crew aboard the ship reported the following actions: Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan, Five stool samples were collected and submitted to the British Columbia (Canada) Centre for Disease Control laboratory and made daily reports of gastrointestinal illness cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP).
A CDC-VSP environmental health officer boarded the ship in Vancouver once the vessel docked to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.
Norovirus is a highly contagious viral illness that often goes by other names, such as viral gastroenteritis, stomach flu, and food poisoning.
The symptoms include nausea,vomiting, diarrhea, and some stomach cramping. Sometimes people additionally have a low-grade fever,chills,headache, muscle aches, and a general sense of tiredness. The illness often begins suddenly, and the infected person may feel very sick. In most people, the illness is self-limiting with symptoms lasting for about 1 or 2 days.
In general, children experience more vomiting than adults do.
Norovirus is spread person to person particularly in crowded, closed places. Norovirus is typically spread through contaminated food and water, touching surfaces or objects contaminated with norovirus and then putting your hand or fingers in your mouth and close contact with someone who is vomiting or has diarrhea.
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July 2017, CDC reported on itinerary July 23-30 (7-day Alaskan cruise from Seward AK to Vancouver Canada), a Noro virus outbreak affected 138 passengers (out of 2086, or 6,6%) and 4 crew (out of 803, or 0,5%).
I was on a cruise last week with an outbreak of Norovirus … wondering why I can’t find any news on this one: July 2017, CDC reported on itinerary July 23-30 (7-day Alaskan cruise from Seward AK to Vancouver Canada), a Noro virus outbreak affected 138 passengers (out of 2086, or 6,6%) and 4 crew (out of 803, or 0,5%).
I was on the July 12 – 19 Alaska cruise and my husband contracted the norovirus along with other passengers the last two days of the cruise.
I was on the Volendam the week of the July 12-19 and my husband along with a lot of other passengers contracted this virus the last two days of the cruise. Sounds like it was not taken care of properly!
do u know if it is now under control? i see last week it was on 3 hal ships. must be streading from crew members. how long does it take to feel better? i hope your husband is all better now. thank you.
I was on the July 12-19 cruise from Vancouver to Alaska and my husband along with other passengers contracted this viruse last two days of our cruise. Sounds like it was not properly taken care of.
Is it taken care of now? I am going on the volendam sept 12th. thank you