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Norovirus strikes at sea again

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published December 11, 2006

FORT LAUDERDALE - More than 210 people came down with a gastrointestinal illness aboard two Caribbean cruises that ended in South Florida on Sunday.

Royal Caribbean officials delayed the scheduled departure Sunday of the Freedom of the Seas from the Port of Miami for additional sanitizing after norovirus sickened passengers and crew aboard the world's largest cruise ship for the second consecutive week. More than 380 passengers and crew were sickened by norovirus during a Nov. 26-Dec. 3 Caribbean cruise, and 97 passengers and 11 crew aboard the ship last week suffered from the same illness, officials at cruise line said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended holding the ship in port and will oversee the repeated cleaning of door handles, railings and elevator buttons, officials said.

Meanwhile, the Sun Princess, operated by Princess Cruises, was undergoing a thorough cleaning after docking at Port Everglades on Sunday. Julie Benson, a spokeswoman for Princess said 97 of about 1,950 passengers on the ship and another six crew members became sick during the 10-day voyage.

Test results had not yet been received, but Benson said affected passengers and workers had symptoms consistent with the highly contagious norovirus.

Norovirus is a group of viruses that cause stomach-flulike symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting and stomach cramps, according to the CDC. The illness usually lasts one to two days without any long-term health effects.

It spreads through contaminated food or liquids, by touching contaminated surfaces and then placing that hand in one's mouth, or through direct contact with someone who is infected.

[Last modified December 11, 2006, 00:24:42]