Just days after the report on a gastrointestinal outbreak on board Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Pearl, federal health officials are reporting another outbreak of unknown etiology.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 100 illnesses among passengers and crew on Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Infinity. The voyage began on March 29 and will end in San Diego on April 13, 2015.
The outbreak etiology is still unknown with patients presenting with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea.
In response to the outbreak, Celebrity Cruise Lines and the crew aboard the ship are taking the following actions: Increasing cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan, making announcements to notify on board passengers of the outbreak, encourage case reporting, and encourage hand hygiene and collected stool specimens from ill passengers and crew.
One CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer and one epidemiologist will board the ship in San Diego, CA on April 13, 2015 to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. Specimens are being collected and will be tested by CDC to determine the causative agent for this outbreak.
I’m not surprised. I recently was on a cruise and made regular use of the many sanitizing stations. I was astounded at the number of people who would brush past them and even refuse the crew members who stood at the entrance to restaurants with sanitizer. What can one do about idiots? 🙁
Not surprised. Boarded this ship in B.A. on it’s way back to the states. Many of us got sick on that cruise, but it was an upper sinus thing. Even more got sick on the cruise from Satiago to Fort. Lauderdale. At the 8:30 seating of the main dining room, most nights there was only 1 sanitizer machine for all to use. Even found it was empty 2 nights in a row