A norovirus outbreak has sickened 19 people aboard a National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions cruise ship, marking the vessel’s second outbreak in about a month.
The CDC said outbreaks commonly happen in places where people are in close quarters, such as cruise ships, schools, nursing homes, hospitals, and restaurants.
This outbreak follows an earlier one aboard the same cruise ship during a voyage from May 31 to June 5.
Norovirus is a highly contagious virus that causes inflammation of the stomach and intestines. It often leads to acute gastroenteritis, commonly referred to as the stomach flu. The virus spreads easily through close contact with an infected person, eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water, touching contaminated surfaces and then touching your mouth, or contact with vomit or fecal matter from an infected person.
One crew member was among those infected during the trip. The crew member and passengers reported experiencing symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting. Symptoms usually begin 12 to 48 hours after exposure and typically last 1 to 3 days, although some people may feel weak for several days afterward, according to the CDC.
A total of 68 people were on the cruise ship at the time of the outbreak.
The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) said that it continues to work closely with the National Geographic Sea Bird and with the Alaska Departments of Health and Environmental Conservation.
NTD reached out to National Geographic Expeditions seeking comment but did not receive a response by publication.
In response to the outbreak, Lindblad Expeditions and the ship's crew increased cleaning and disinfection efforts that align with the company's outbreak prevention and response plan, the CDC said. It also isolated passengers and crew members who became ill and consulted with the VSP on sanitation procedures and the reporting of illness cases.
The CDC notifies the public of such outbreaks when the ship is under VSP jurisdiction and the voyage has 3 percent or more of passengers or crew reporting symptoms of GI illness to the ship's medical staff.