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Stubborn stomach bug besets ship again
©Associated Press
November 27, 2002
ORLANDO -- At least 85 people aboard the Disney cruise liner Magic have contracted a flu-like illness this week, just days after the ship was scrubbed for hours because scores of people fell sick on an earlier trip.
The ship was disinfected Saturday after about 275 people developed the illness on the Magic's last seven-day trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Netherlands Antilles, which ended Saturday.
The Norwalk-like virus, which has afflicted at least 69 passengers and 16 crew members, can cause diarrhea, stomach pain and vomiting for up to two days.
The source of the infections has not been determined, Disney Cruise Line spokesman Mark Jaronski said. The virus is commonly spread through food and water and close contact with infected people or things they have touched.
Jaronski said there are about 2,400 passengers and 950 crew members aboard the current Magic cruise, which left Saturday night from Port Canaveral. It is touring the Caribbean.
A Norwalk-like virus also is suspected of sickening more than 500 passengers and crew members aboard the Holland America Line cruise ship Amsterdam the past few weeks. Last week, Holland America canceled a 10-day cruise out of Port Everglades to allow time for a thorough decontamination of the Amsterdam.
The Amsterdam was only the second U.S.-based cruise ship to be pulled from service this year, and only two others have been taken out in the past four years, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
Jaronski said Magic passengers who have fallen ill will receive compensation from Disney.
The virus is named for a gastrointestinal outbreak in Norwalk, Ohio, 30 years ago.
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