Los Angeles -- Norovirus struck more than 300 passengers and crew members combined aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2 during a two-week cruise, which ended here yesterday.
Cunard Line, which owns the legendary ship, reported that 280 passengers and 28 crew were affected by the gastrointestinal illness. Those numbers represent about 17 percent and 3 percent respectively of the ship's passengers and crew. The QE2 carries 2,654 passengers and crew combined.
Cunard attributed the norovirus outbreak to unknown embarking passengers. The voyage began Jan. 8 in New York and represents one leg of the ship's world cruise this year.
Officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) boarded the vessel in Acapulco on Jan. 19 to investigate the outbreak and oversee sanitation measures.
Cunard said it took the following measures: disinfection of high-touch surfaces like railings, door handles, and elevator buttons; encouraging guests to use correct hand washing procedures and placing hand-sanitizing gels throughout the ship; isolating ill guests in cabins until non-contagious; encouraging guests to use their own cabin's bathroom facilities; and communicating frequently to guests what they can do to stay well while onboard.
Cunard said its quick response onboard ship limited the contagion's spread.
"At the first sign of an increase in the numbers of guests reporting to the medical center with gastrointestinal illness, we immediately initiated additional enhanced sanitation procedures to interrupt the person-to-person spread of this virus," Cunard said in a statement issued yesterday.
"Last night only four guests reported ill, and currently seven guests and two crew members are still experiencing symptoms of Norovirus," the statement continued. "We are pleased that our efforts to contain the spread of this illness resulted in a significant decrease in the number of cases."
The outbreak of norovirus aboard the QE2 was the first of 2007 among major cruise ships. Last year, the CDC recorded 28 outbreaks of norovirus on cruise ships in which the number of cases exceeded 3 percent of total passengers. That's double the number of cases recorded in 2005.
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