Approximately 70 passengers on a Celebrity Cruises vessel contracted norovirus during a recent trip to Alaska, health officials report.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 68 of the 2,264 guests aboard the Celebrity Summit fell ill during the cruise, which concluded on Friday. Five crew members were also affected.
Those who became sick experienced symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. Infected passengers and crew were isolated and provided biological samples for testing, the CDC confirmed.
“Norovirus is a very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea. Anyone can get infected and sick with norovirus,” the CDC states on its website. “Norovirus is sometimes called the ‘stomach flu’ or ‘stomach bug.’ However, norovirus illness is not related to the flu, which is caused by influenza virus.”
Following the conclusion of the cruise, the ship was sanitized, and none of the passengers who fell ill are on its current voyage, according to a spokesman for Royal Caribbean Group, which owns Celebrity Cruises.
This marks the second norovirus outbreak on a Celebrity cruise ship this year. In January, nearly 100 guests on the Celebrity Constellation contracted the virus. Additionally, in April, about 67 of the 1,933 passengers on Royal Caribbean International’s Radiance of the Seas and 94 of the 2,532 passengers on Princess Cruises’ Sapphire Princess fell ill with norovirus.
The CDC has documented seven outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses on cruises this year significant enough to warrant public notification, with norovirus being the cause in all but one case.
Despite the attention on cruise ship outbreaks, the majority of norovirus infections — 62 percent — occur in healthcare facilities. Approximately 20 million people contract the virus annually in various settings, according to the CDC.
Norovirus can spread in any location where people congregate, including cruise ships, restaurants, and hospitals.