Sea Princess Cruise passengers this week received an non-welcomed cruise ship risk when 53 passengers contracted the norovirus, an event that is now being investigated by the federal government.
The cruise was on a 10-day Alaskan trip out of San Francisco when it was reported that 53 of 2,196 passengers contracted the virus, a highly contagious gastroenteritis infection. The June 19 cruise means that more than 350 passengers have become sick aboard the company’s cruises since May 10 according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The first outbreak occurred May 10 when 44 passenger became ill, followed by a May 20 cruise in which 128 people were left sick and a May 30 voyage in which 142 out of 2,2128 passenger contracted the virus.
The CDC warns that the norovirus is typically spread through water or when touching contaminated surfaces, which explains why on a crowded cruise ship so many people became sick.
Cruise ship passengers are urged to constantly wash their hands, make sure food is properly prepared and to avoid as many surfaces as possible such as handrails on staircases that tend to be touched by many people.
Even with “extensive” cleaning of their ship before their last voyages the outbreaks continue and for how long is a matter of isolating the virus and removing it from the environment which can be tricky aboard such a massive vessel.
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