Silke Jasso
During the recent voyage of the Ruby Princess, an unexpected and widespread illness affected the ship’s passengers and crew members, that left several under the weather. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is currently investigating the outbreak, reporting that between Feb. 26 and March 5, 2023, 284 out of 2,881 passengers and 34 out of 1,159 crew members experienced symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea.
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On March 5th, Vessel Sanitation Program epidemiologists and environmental health officers met the ship when it docked in Galveston, Texas in order to conduct a field response. It is still isn’t clear when the first case was reported, but a representative for Princess Cruises spoke with People saying “at the first sign of an increase in the numbers of passengers reporting to the medical center with gastrointestinal illness, [they] immediately initiated additional enhanced sanitization procedures to interrupt the person-to-person spread of this virus.”
Outbreak Aboard Ruby Princess
In response to the widespread illness, stool samples were reportedly collected from affected patients and were quickly sent to the CDC for analysis. Additionally, warnings were quickly issued to other guests onboard the ship about the risk of the illness. Although the cause of the outbreak is yet to be determined, it is believed to be norovirus. This highly contagious gastrointestinal bug is prevalent on ocean liners due to the close proximity of passengers and crew. Norovirus can spread quickly and easily from person to person via contaminated food, water, and surfaces.
“As an additional precaution, the ship underwent an additional disinfection on March 5 in Galveston ahead of its next departure, [a seven-day western Caribbean cruise,]” Princess Cruises went on to state.
