WebProNews

Tag: Crown Princess

  • Norovirus Sickens 172 on Princess Cruises Ship

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Sunday that 172 passengers of a U.S.-based Princess Cruises ship touring the Pacific have been infected with Norovirus.

    The ship in question, the “Crown Princess,” had a similar outbreak in April, when over 150 passengers became infected. The vessel also had a Norovirus incident in December, 2012, when 102 passengers were infected.

    Norovirus, which kills roughly 200,000 annually, is the most common cause of viral gastroenteritis in humans. The fatalities occur in mostly third-world countries, and children, the elderly and those who are immunosuppressed are at the highest risk.

    Symptoms of Norovirus include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and at times loss of taste. The disease is spread through the fecal contamination of food and water, via person-to-person contact and can be aerosolized by way of vomiting and the flushing of toilets. Many norovirus outbreaks have been traced to food that was handled by one infected person.

    Here is a clip concerning Norovirus:

    While severe illness is uncommon in developed countries, an infected person will likely feel fairly sick for a few days. There is no specific treatment for Norovirus, though a patient should remain hydrated.

    The CDC reported that 158 of the 3,009 passengers on the Crown Princess were infected, along with 14 of the 1,160 crew members. The ship is presently docked in Los Angeles and Princess Cruises is deep cleaning the vessel under the advisement of the CDC. A CDC employee will assess the progress Sunday.

    The Crown Princess is a Grand-class cruise ship at 951 feet long, and can hold 3,080 passengers and 1,201 crew members. The ship presently travels the Caribbean for the Winter season, and Europe for the Summer season. Its godmother is Martha Stewart.

    The Crown Princess is scheduled to head to Mexico on November 29.

  • Cruise Ship Illnesses Continue to Spread on Crown Princess

    An illness on the Crown Princess cruise ship continues to affect passengers on the vessel.

    The ship has been on a seven-day voyage visiting ports in California, which includes stops in San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

    A norovirus was detected and was said to be very contagious. It generally causes nausea, diarrhea, stomach cramping, and other flu-like symptoms.

    The cruise ship’s spokeswoman Karen Candy said that the illness is easily spread via person-to-person contact.

    The virus tends to stick to surfaces and is more dominant in very closed or tight areas-especially bathrooms.

    After some of the symptoms have depreciated, it takes a few days for a person to completely cure from the illness.

    The number of sick travelers has recently totaled to 17 crewmembers and 66 passengers. When the ship left the San Francisco port on Monday, only 37 members had come down with some of the symptoms.

    Those who were sick were placed in isolated cabins on the ship.

    The ship’s staff has quickly responded to the outbreak. Although sanitizers and meticulous cleaning cannot kill the virus, door handles and other surfaces have been disinfected.

    The cruise ship is scheduled to end its travels on Saturday at the Los Angeles port where it first started the trip.

    This is not the first case this year where a cruise ship has been attacked by the norovirus.

    In January, 600 travelers on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Explorer of the Seas, caught the bug.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made their way onboard to investigate the illness and determined that the virus was present on the ship.

    The ship-which was en route to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Isles-had to end the 10-day trip sooner than expected and returned to its New Jersey port.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons