By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews
In a follow-up on the second consecutive Princess Cruises’ Caribbean Princess voyage experiencing a gastrointestinal outbreak, federal officials have reported additional cases of vomiting and diarrhea on the cruise.
Updated today by the CDC, 245 passengers and crew have been sickened, up from 201 two days ago.
Health officials have not determined the causative agent for either of the two Caribbean Princess voyages.
The Sun Sentinel reported today that the vessel will be returning early: “Caribbean Princess has ended its 14-day Caribbean cruise one day early, out of an abundance of caution, due to guests reporting symptoms consistent with mild cases of gastrointestinal illness and confirmed through onboard testing to have been caused by norovirus,” reads the statement. “Those individuals are being treated by the ship’s medical team, and there are no cases of coronavirus amongst guests or crew. Norovirus is a common stomach illness prevalent throughout the winter season.”
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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