Thirty-eight passengers on a ten-day Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Seven Seas Mariner voyage have been stricken with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea.
While no etiology has been confirmed, specimens have been collected and tested onboard using a norovirus rapid test; results were positive for norovirus. The specimens will be sent to CDC for further testing.
Norovirus prevention: Handwashing is most effective
In response to the outbreak, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and the crew aboard the ship reported the following actions: Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan, collection of stool specimens from passenger and crew gastrointestinal illness cases for testing, making multiple daily reports of gastrointestinal illness cases to the CDC Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) and considering comprehensive disinfection procedures in Vancouver, Canada.
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.
Norovirus causes more than 20 million illnesses annually in the US, and it is the leading cause of gastroenteritis outbreaks in the United States.
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I was on the ship sailing in Alaska and was a victim. Not Pleasant!!
I did not report the illness. Sick on 6/21/18 – 6/22/2018
Why didn’t you report it? That is the kind of thing that needs to be reported immediately to prevent an outbreak.
Why didn’t you report it? That is the kind of thing that needs to be reported immediately to prevent an outbreak. I was on that cruise as well and the official outbreak was on the 24th. Maybe if you had reported it it may not have spread to as many people.
Happened to get sick on 2nd day. No instructions to report being sick at this early stage. If this is a typical problem on board cruise ships why did the Captain and the Event Coordinator hold a meet n greet inviting all passengers to step into hallway to have a glass of wine and shake hands with him and everyone else to be welcomed to ship? Great way to spread a bug to 700 pass and crew!!!!
It was on that form that we signed when we boarded. The one that asked if we were sick. It said to report any signs of gastro symptoms.