Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships in 2024

Table Of Content

• Norovirus outbreaks 2023 reports
• Why do I only hear about Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships?
• COVID, Bird Flu, Monkeypox – A Virologist Explains the Surge of Virus Outbreaks Around the World
• How to treat stomach viruses
• Wash Your Hands
• Cruises
• Why are acute gastrointestinal illnesses including noroviruses associated with cruise ships?

An "illness outbreak" is considered when 3% or more of all passengers report symptoms to the ship's med staff. In such cases, the CDC requires cruise lines to file a medical report. The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program records outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on cruise ships.

Norovirus outbreaks 2023 reports

That’s the highest tally in 10-years, ever since 16 such outbreaks occurred in 2012, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vessel Sanitation Program. And with half of 2023 still to go, there’s a good chance that the 2012 count will be surpassed sometime later this year. If you feel ill from Norovirus while on a cruise ship, visit the ship's doctor. Additionally, be sure to drink plenty of water, as dehydration is a common side-effect.

Why do I only hear about Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships?

You can compare the number of reports (CDC and news media sources) and the total number of infected (passengers and crew). There have currently been 13 norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships in 2023. The most recent outbreak occurred on a Viking Cruises ship, which traveled from Iceland and docked in New York City.

COVID, Bird Flu, Monkeypox – A Virologist Explains the Surge of Virus Outbreaks Around the World

It may be a certain number of cases or a certain percentage of passengers and crew on the ship. According to the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), every cruise ship must have a place to isolate any passengers who have a contagious disease. This step helps them minimize the risk of spreading the disease to others.

Celebrity Cruises' Constellation norovirus outbreak - Business Insider

Celebrity Cruises' Constellation norovirus outbreak.

Posted: Mon, 15 Jan 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Since January 2023, there have been 13 confirmed norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships under U.S. jurisdiction — that's more outbreaks in six months than there have been during any full year since 2012, according to data from the U.S. Cases of norovirus on cruise ships are reported more commonly than on land because cruise ship passengers are required to report cases to the ship’s medical team. Norovirus is caught by having contact with an infected person, either directly, or by touching contaminated surfaces. Norovirus outbreaks can occur on cruise ships when people bring the virus onto the ship and pass it on to others.

How to treat stomach viruses

“We believe the gastrointestinal illness originated from a shoreside restaurant in Iceland where a group of guests dined during their free time,” the cruise line said in a statement. After docking in New York, the ship was thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, and continued its scheduled sailings. Mathis says older passengers and others traveling with family face a risk from others in their party.

Wash Your Hands

In humans, Zika virus causes the Zika fever which is known to occur only within some equatorial regions. In 2014, Zika spread across the Pacific Ocean to French Polynesia, and soon to Easter Island. In 2015, Zika virus reached Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. Numerous studies confirm that a quick application of hand sanitizer doesn't kill the Norovirus. It takes about 30 sec of hard rubbing with hot water and soap (including under the nails) to wash it. During the onboard illness outbreak, VSP requires the cruise company to activate the "Outbreak Prevention and Response Plan" (vessel's response to illness cases).

There's nothing like a stomach virus to ruin your vacation, as hundreds of cruise ship passengers have unfortunately learned this year. For most young and healthy people, norovirus isn’t much of a health risk, says Eyal Leshem, an infectious-disease expert at Sheba Medical Center who previously worked at the CDC. Some people find getting tested for norovirus embarrassing, while others only have stomach virus symptoms for a few days and do not seek medical care during that time.

Surging cases The exact cause of this year's uptick in cruise cases remains unclear, but experts believe that soaring demand for cruises and record numbers of passengers might be behind it. Secondly, clean and disinfect high touch surfaces such as doorknobs, faucets, handles, and that statue of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the dining hall. Use either a chlorine bleach solution that has a concentration of at least 1,000 to 5,000 parts per million or use a disinfectant that’s registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as being effective versus norovirus. So the decision to travel or not should depend on several factors, Ungerleider says, including your personal health status and risk tolerance. Moreover, the cruise industry often finds itself under scrutiny following an outbreak, which can affect the public’s perception and willingness to book cruises, ultimately impacting the industry’s bottom line.

Another popular cruise line, Royal Caribbean International, has reported four outbreaks since January. The hotel staff is required to implement special cleaning and disinfection procedures for sanitizing the whole ship. To do that, they use stronger solvents, like Microbac, chlorine bleach, hydrogen peroxide. Sick passengers and crew are quarantined in their rooms, typically for at least 2 days. When Norovirus outbreaks can't be contained, cruise lines might also pull the ship out of service for a few days for sanitizing.

When the Covid pandemic hit, the CDC made a travel health notice advising against cruise ship travel. Because of this, there were no norovirus outbreaks in 2020 and 2021. However, in March 2022 the agency dropped the health notice, though it strongly urged against cruising without a booster shot. The following statistics show the number of cruise ship illness outbreaks in recent years.

The worst outbreak of norovirus on a cruise ship occurred onboard Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas in January 2014. On this 10-night cruise, 534 out of 3071 (20.6%) passengers or crew reported being ill. That means data for norovirus on cruise ships is more readily available than for other entities. It's easy to make norovirus case numbers sound alarming, but context matters.

There have been 13 norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships since the start of the year, the most outbreaks the U.S. has witnessed since 2012, and more than there were in all of 2022. Royal Caribbean International's 'Oasis of the Seas' cruise ship is seen at Port Canaveral, Florida ... [+] on January 12, 2019, after returning a day early from a seven-night Caribbean cruise when over 400 passengers and crew members suffered gastrointestinal illness due to a suspected Norovirus outbreak. That’s the highest number of norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships since 2012.