A new mass case of “cruise ship disease” or norovirus has been recorded on board a cruise ship operated by Princess Cruises. According to CBC News, more than 300 people have been quarantined with diarrhea and vomiting. Experts suspect a mass infection with norovirus, but “patient zero” has not yet been identified.
The accident occurred on the Ruby Princess liner during a cruise in America. According to available data, 284 out of 2,881 tourists on board fell ill, and symptoms were also detected in 34 out of 1,159 crew members. Symptoms of victims are typical of both poisoning and norovirus — primarily vomiting and diarrhea.
According to experts, the “quarantine ship” has already docked in Galveston, Texas, and tourists have sought medical help. But they have not yet determined what caused the disease. Epidemiologists collect samples from passengers for analysis.
Meanwhile, a representative of Princess Cruises says that doctors have ordered sick passengers to isolate themselves in their rooms. The company also said the illness was likely caused by norovirus, a highly contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea.
Note that norovirus is sometimes called the cruise ship virus. It is he who causes more than 90% of outbreaks of diarrheal diseases on cruise ships. The virus is very contagious, and this is the reason that it spreads instantly in the closed space of the liner. As with any fairly “volatile” infection, let’s recall that at the first stage of the coronavirus pandemic, news spread one after another about “quarantine liners” carrying the coronavirus, after which tourists were imprisoned on board for quarantine. The epic of quarantines, by the way, began with the liner of the same cruise operator – Diamond Princess, which was “quarantined” in Japan. However, it quickly became clear that quarantine in the conditions of a cruise ship is ineffective and contributes to the spread of the virus.