Federal health officials are reporting an investigation into a norovirus outbreak o a recent Crystal Cruises voyage.
At least 47 passengers and crew onboard the Crystal Symphony were was sickened with vomiting and diarrhea due to norovirus. The voyage date were Nov. 8-Dec. 2.
Specimens were collected and tested onboard using a norovirus rapid test; results were positive for norovirus. The specimens have been sent to CDC for laboratory testing.
Crystal Cruises and the crew aboard the ship reported the following actions:
- Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan.
- Collected stool specimens from passenger and crew gastrointestinal illness cases and sent them to the CDC Calicivirus laboratory for testing.
- Sent multiple daily reports of gastrointestinal illness cases to the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP).
- Consulted with VSP about sanitation cleaning procedures and reporting ill cases.
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.
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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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