Virus outbreak hits cruise ship previously linked to fatal Australian COVID-19 outbreak
A cruise ship previously hit by a fatal COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney has now reported more than 120 suspected cases of Norovirus while touring in the US.
Princess Cruises’ Ruby Princess ship has had more than 120 passengers showing symptoms of the virus after a 20-day voyage from San Francisco to Alaska and British Columbia.
Princess Cruise line's Ruby Princess docks in San Francisco Bay in 2021. iStock
Symptoms of the highly contagious Norovirus include diarrhoea and vomiting, and generally last for one to three days.
In response to the outbreak, Princess Cruises said it has ramped up cleaning, collected stool samples from sick passengers for testing, isolated sick passengers and crew members, and spoken with the CDC.
US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that 102 passengers and 24 crew members reported being ill while on board the ship, which has been plagued by controversy.
In March 2020, the ship departed Sydney only to return with 663 positive cases among the 2641 passengers, which included 1679 Australians.
The voyage led to 28 deaths, and in October 2023, the Federal Court found Carnival was negligent in its duty of care and misled passengers about safety on board before the voyage.
The CDC has since said they are actively monitoring the ship’s outbreak response and sanitation measures.
The ship has had more than 120 people report symptoms of Norovirus. 9News
What is Norovirus?
According to the CDC, Norovirus is a highly contagious disease that causes vomiting and diarrhoea.
The flu is caused by the influenza virus and results in an inflammation of the stomach or intestines.
People usually develop symptoms 12 to 48 hours after exposure to the virus and will get better within one to three days. However, the disease can still be spread even two weeks after recovery.
Other symptoms of the disease also include fevers, body aches and headaches.
People of all ages are prone to the virus is usually spread through direct contact, sharing food or drinks and touching contaminated surfaces.
The CDC recommends regularly washing hands, disinfecting contaminated surfaces and preparing foods properly to prevent catching the highly contagious Novavirus.
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