Gastrointestinal outbreak hits luxury cruise ship headed from SF to Hawaii

The skyline of downtown San Francisco with the Golden Gate Bridge.
Gary Coronado//TNS

Nearly 160 people suffered from vomiting and diarrhea aboard a luxury cruise ship that has since departed from San Francisco, health officials confirmed, and it’s still unclear what caused the mysterious gastrointestinal outbreak.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 129 passengers and 25 crew members got sick from Jan. 22 to Feb. 6 on the Queen Victoria, a vessel of the upscale Cunard Line. The Queen Victoria departed from San Francisco on Wednesday, Feb. 7, and is now headed toward Hawaii, Jackie Chase, a Cunard press representative, told SFGATE.

Since the outbreak, cruise employees have isolated sick passengers and crew and increased its sanitization protocols, the CDC’s website said. Chase told SFGATE via email that these measures have been effective.

Cunard, which has operated such notable ocean liners as the Queen Mary and Lusitania in its 184-year history, offers amenities like “luxury 3D cinema,” its website reads, along with talks from famous guest speakers and black tie events that “feel like a scene from a Hollywood movie.” The company is now owned by Florida-based Carnival Corporation.

According to the CDC, cruise ships create the perfect storm for gastrointestinal illness.

Millions of Americans travel on cruises each year, exposing themselves to new environments and other travelers packed in close quarters, the CDC says. Naturally, these conditions pave the way for viruses to spread, especially through person-to-person contact.

As a result, in early 2024, nearly 100 passengers fell ill with norovirus — also known as the “winter vomiting bug” — on a Celebrity cruise. Fourteen other ships had norovirus, E. coli and salmonella outbreaks the year before, the CDC website shows. Sick passengers are advised to consult the ship’s medical staff, wash their hands often, and notify crew members of other ill passengers.

Source: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/luxury-cruise-sf-illness-outbreak-18656461.php

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