The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that roughly 172 people aboard the Princess Cruises' Crown Princess are infected with the norovirus.
Norovirus is a contagious virus that can infect anyone through person-to-person contact, contaminated food or water, or contaminated surfaces. The virus attacks the stomach or intestines, which can cause stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. Each year, up to 71,000 people are hospitalized, and up to 800 die of the disease.
Passengers of the cruise ship showed symptoms of the disease a few days after the 28-day voyage from Hawaii to Tahiti began. All sick passengers were treated aboard, and none required hospitalization, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The crew immediately conducted a general cleaning and disinfection of the ship and urged passengers to report new cases. A CDC representative will inspect the ship for investigation and specimen collections.
"Over the last few days, the ship began seeing an increased number of gastrointestinal illnesses, caused by norovirus," said company spokeswoman Susan Lomax. "In response, we have enacted our stringent disinfecting protocols developed in conjunction with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
One hundred fifty eight passengers and 14 crew members were asked to leave the ship on Sunday during its docking in Los Angeles. After the cleaning and inspection, the ship will cruise to the Mexican Riviera, CNN reported.
The recent case is not the first for Crown Princess this year; at least 122 passengers and 30 crew members fell ill in April. Another cruise ship, the Royal Carribean, also had 600 cases of norovirus infections in January of this year. CDC estimated that the norovirus outbreak occurs in 1 of 200 cruises per year.
"As it is the cold and flu season, when the stomach flu circulates on land, we encourage all of our guests to be diligent in following the widely accepted practices of frequent hand washing with soap and water and the use of hand sanitizers," said Lomax.
