As many as 180 passengers and three staff members on a Royal Caribbean cruise fell ill with gastrointestinal illness last week, in what would be the tenth outbreak on a ship of this type just this year.
Abdominal cramps, headache, vomiting and diarrhea: the dream week planned on the Radiance of the Seas would have fallen through for nearly 9% of the 2,172 passengers on board the cruise, during a trip to Alaska between September 20 and 27, according to the “New York Post”.
In total, 180 passengers, but also three of the 864 crew members, are believed to have suffered from a gastrointestinal illness, reported the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Disinfection and cleaning measures were immediately reinforced to contain the epidemic, while passengers were encouraged to maintain good hand hygiene and report any symptoms, according to the American media.
At present, authorities do not know what could have triggered this outbreak, but stool samples were taken from sick people, according to the “Post”.
“To maintain an environment that supports the highest levels of health and safety on board our ships, we implement rigorous cleaning procedures, many of which far exceed public health guidelines,” a spokesperson was quoted as saying. from the company to USA Today.
This would be the tenth outbreak to occur on cruises since the start of the year, but this CDC count could be much higher since it only takes into account those that docked in the United States.
The Radiance of the Seas also suffered a norovirus epidemic last April, which however only affected 67 passengers.
This topo excludes, for example, the norovirus epidemic which forced 519 of the 4,200 passengers to self-isolate aboard the P&O Cruises Ventura cruise last May, since it had set sail in the United Kingdom. before heading towards the Canary Islands.
