Nearly 30 Cruise Ship Passengers In US Mysteriously Fall Ill With Diarrhoea

Nearly 30 passengers on a luxury cruise ship got sick in a gastrointestinal illness outbreak despite Silversea Cruises being known for its phenomenal cuisine, as per a report in the New York Post. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Monday that during the 16-day journey from Peru, at least 28 of the Silver Nova's 633 passengers and one member of the crew reported feeling ill.

The CDC added that the main symptom was diarrhoea. Although the exact source of the outbreak, which has affected about 5 per cent of the passengers on board, is still unknown, the CDC stated that contaminated food or water is the main cause of norovirus outbreaks.

The cruise ship made announcements informing both staff and guests about the outbreak and urged them to report instances and adopt "good hand hygiene." In addition, Silversea reportedly quarantined its impacted passengers and increased cleaning and disinfection procedures. 

"The health and safety of our guests, crew, and the communities we visit are our top priority. To maintain an environment that supports the highest levels of health and safety onboard our ships, we implement rigorous cleaning procedures, many of which far exceed public health guidelines," a spokesperson for Silversea Cruises told The Post in a statement. The "Easter-themed" cruise began in Peru on March 31 and ended in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Tuesday.

According to CruiseMapper, the starting price for a double occupancy room on the 16-day adventure was $11,700.

In February, several passengers on board Cunard Cruise Line in the US were struck down with vomiting and diarrhoea, CDC said. According to the press note, at least 123 passengers and 16 crew members travelling on the Queen Victoria reported falling ill since the voyage set off on January 22 from Florida. 

The cause of the gastrointestinal illness was not known, health officials said, but they added that the main symptoms among those on board the vessel included diarrhoea and vomiting. 

This came weeks after passengers on board a Florida-based cruise ship came down with an unknown illness. Passengers on the cruise ship reported symptoms of gastroenteritis, or the stomach flu, after setting off from Jacksonville. One passenger, Miranda Hill said her bout of illness was so bad that she started hurling blue vomit. "My throw up was bright blue and I have never eaten anything blue and every time I look up blue throw up, it has to deal with a poisoning," she said.