A cruise was cut short because of a norovirus. More than 200 passengers contracted gastroenteritis.
The cruise tastes bitter. 252 passengers, mostly British, contracted norovirus, responsible for gastroenteritis, while cruising on the Balmoral. The ship, operated by the American company Fred Olsen Cruises, began its voyage on April 16 and was due to finish it on May 20, with nearly 1,000 people on board. Eight of the 502 crew members were also affected. Called in disaster last week, teams from the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were dispatched to the scene. The ship docked in Baltimore where an epidemiologist and two officers boarded.
Reinforced disinfection measures
Faced with the epidemic, disinfection and cleaning procedures have been greatly strengthened. THEhe US federal health authorities recalled that this is not the first time that such an epidemic has affected a cruise ship. Already in 2010, an epidemic of gastroenteritis had affected the same ship, the Balmoral. 310 passengers, mostly Americans, had fallen ill. More recently, in November 2014, a cruise ship suffered an outbreak of gastroenteritis. The highly contagious intestinal virus had affected 158 of 3,009 passengers and 14 of 1,160 crew members. On board, theViruses proliferate more quickly, in particular because of the promiscuity which facilitates contamination.
.
