April 1 (UPI) — A 29-day round-trip cruise from England to the Caribbean aboard the Queen Mary 2 luxury liner turned into an ordeal for 224 passengers and 17 crew members who reported becoming ill.
A norovirus outbreak aboard the ship was reported on March 18 as the vessel continued its March 8 to April 6 cruise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The 224 sickened passengers represent 8.8% of the vessel’s 2,538 passengers while the 17 sickened crew members represent 1.4% of its staff.
The numbers represent the cumulative total of those who have taken ill at different times during the cruise instead of all at once.
“Thanks to the swift response from our crew and the additional measures that we have in place, we are already seeing a reduction in reported cases,” Cunard officials said in a statement that was shared with the New York Times.
The norovirus is a very contagious virus that many refer to as the “stomach flu” and causes vomiting and diarrhea, according to the CDC. It commonly is spread by contaminated food, water or exposed surfaces.
The Cunard Line responded to the outbreak aboard the Queen Mary 2 by increasing the crew’s cleaning and disinfection procedures.
Sick passengers and crew are isolated from others aboard the ship and stool samples have been collected for testing, according to the CDC.
Whenever outbreaks occur on cruise liners, the CDC requires the respective cruise lines to report them to the federal health agency.
The vessel departed from Southampton, England, and made a stop in New York City before proceeding to the Caribbean and then returning to its home port, ABC News reported.
The vessel also made stops in St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Grenada, Barbados, Dominica, St. Kitts and Tortola and on Tuesday was crossing the Atlantic Ocean to return to Southampton on April 6.
Cunard launched the 1,132-foot Queen Mary 2 in 2004. It is one of the world’s largest ocean liners and serves as the Cunard Line’s flagship.