Passengers on cruise ship docked in Maine may have norovirus (Update)

Federal health officials said passengers aboard the first cruise ship to dock in Portland, Maine, this season may have norovirus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 27 percent of the passengers aboard the Balmoral, operated by the Fred Olsen Cruises, have gotten sick since the cruise began April 16.

The CDC reported that 252 of the 919 passengers on the Balmoral have fallen ill, as well as eight members of the 502-member crew.

Symptoms of norovirus include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

The CDC said the ship has increased its cleaning and disinfection procedures. Two CDC health officers and an epidemiologist boarded the ship during its stop in Baltimore, Maryland, last week.

Mayor Ethan Strimling told the Portland Press Herald that he learned about the outbreak just before boarding the ship for a tour on Sunday morning.

"I could see there were people wiping things down constantly," Strimling said. "We got onto the elevators and they wiped the elevators down."

The Balmoral departed Portland Harbor at 4 p.m. Sunday and is headed to Saint John, New Brunswick, the Press Herald reported.

The ship set out from Southampton, England, on April 16 and is due to return May 20.

Fred Olsen Cruises did not immediately return a request for comment.

© 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Citation: Passengers on cruise ship docked in Maine may have norovirus (Update) (2016, May 8) retrieved 29 March 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-05-passengers-cruise-ship-docked-maine.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Norovirus sickens 159 on cruise ship docked in Norfolk

7 shares

Feedback to editors