NEWS: Norovirus Outbreak Hits ANOTHER Cruise Line

Yet ANOTHER cruise ship has been afflicted with a case of gastrointestinal illness.

©Regent

In a blow to the cruise industry, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has announced another outbreak on board an international cruise ship, this time aboard a Regent Seven Seas Cruises sailing that ended Wednesday, May 14th. The ship had departed from Tokyo on April 26th for a cruise through Japan and Alaska before arriving in Vancouver.

According to the CDC, the outbreak saw 22 of 666 passengers and 2 of 545 crew members fall ill with predominant symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting.

Furthermore, the agency says that the line the crew aboard the ship reported the following actions:

Collected stool specimens from gastrointestinal illness cases for testing.
Isolated ill passengers and crew.
Consulted with VSP about sanitation cleaning procedures and reporting ill cases.

The outbreak is seemingly part of a growing trend this year. According to USA Today, “there have been 17 outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on cruise ships that met the CDC’s threshold for public notification so far this year, most of which were caused by norovirus. There were 18 outbreaks in all of 2024, and 14 the previous year.”

©Regent

According to a statement the CDC released to the same outlet in April, “the number of recent cruise ship outbreaks has been higher than in years prior to the pandemic, we do not yet know if this represents a new trend. However, CDC data show a newly dominant strain is currently associated with reported norovirus outbreaks on land,” the agency said in an emailed statement. “Ships typically follow the pattern of land-based outbreaks, which are higher this norovirus season.”

©Regent

Another outbreak of a gastrointestinal illness onboard a cruise ship is once again shining a light on what seems like it could be an ongoing industry issue. Stay tuned to DFB for more on this evolving issue.

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