Dozen People on Cruise Ship Sickened With Gastrointestinal Symptoms: CDC

An outbreak on board the National Geographic Sea Bird cruise ship has left a dozen people suffering from gastrointestinal symptoms, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on June 1.

The ship was carrying 66 passengers and 24 crew members during the voyage that ran from May 26 to May 31. The CDC said nine passengers and three crew members reported symptoms, predominantly vomiting and diarrhea.

The U.S.-flag cruise ship, operated by National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions, is currently sailing near Alaska, according to Vessel Finder.

In response to the outbreak, the CDC said that Lindblad Expeditions has ramped up cleaning and disinfection procedures aboard the ship and isolated sick passengers and crew members.

The crew also consulted with the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) regarding sanitation cleaning procedures and reporting of sick individuals, the agency said.

“VSP remotely monitored the situation, including review of the ship’s outbreak response and sanitation procedures,” the CDC said in a statement.

The CDC was notified of the outbreak on May 28, though the causative agent remains unknown.

The Epoch Times reached out to National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

Norovirus is often identified as the cause of gastrointestinal illnesses on cruise ships, but the cause is not always known in the early stages of an investigation, the CDC said.

According to the agency, finding the cause of an outbreak can take time. Investigators will first collect stool or vomitus samples from people with symptoms, which will then be tested to determine the causative agent.

“In this outbreak, people whose symptoms met the case definition did not provide samples,” the agency stated.

Cruise ships are required to report cases of gastrointestinal illness to the CDC. The agency said that reporting symptoms to the medical center on board can help health officials detect gastrointestinal outbreaks quickly and take steps to limit the spread of illness.

Medical staff would then evaluate symptoms to determine whether they meet the case definition for the illness, including three or more loose stools within 24 hours or vomiting along with another symptom such as diarrhea, muscle ache, headache, abdominal cramp, or fever.

Norovirus is the leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States, accounting for 58 percent of such infections each year, according to the CDC.

Last month, a norovirus outbreak sickened 145 passengers and 15 crew members aboard the Caribbean Princess cruise ship, causing symptoms that predominantly included vomiting and diarrhea. The ship was carrying 3,116 passengers and 1,131 crew members during the voyage that ran from April 28 to May 11.