by Sarah Kuta
Last updated: 1:30 PM ET, Thu February 8, 2024
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is investigating the outbreak of a mysterious gastrointestinal illness that has sickened more than 150 people aboard a cruise ship.
The vessel, Cunard’s Queen Victoria, is in the middle of a 107-night world cruise. Passengers and crew members first reported getting sick on January 22 while the vessel was docked in Fort Lauderdale.
Most recently, the ship was docked in San Francisco. It departed Wedneday for Hawaii.
Over the course of the entire voyage, 129 passengers and 25 crew members reported being ill, with symptoms including diarrhea and vomiting. For context, there are 1,824 passengers and 967 crew members on board, per the CDC, so the outbreak represents roughly 5.5 percent of all individuals on the ship.
The CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program requires cruise ships that stop in U.S. ports to log and report the number of people onboard with gastrointestinal symptoms.
According to the CDC, the cruise line has ramped up cleaning and disinfection procedures, as outlined in the vessel’s outbreak prevention and response plan. It has also isolated sick passengers and crew members, and notified current and embarking passengers and crew of the situation onboard.
Gastrointestinal illnesses are relatively uncommon on cruise ships. So far in 2024, there have been outbreaks on two cruises—the unknown illness currently plaguing the Cunard sailing and norovirus on Celebrity Constellation in early January, according to CDC data. Last year, the CDC reported 14 outbreaks, primarily of norovirus, but also Salmonella and E. coli.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
