CDC Confirms Outbreak on Cruise Ship Due to ‘Unknown’ Illness

The Queen Mary 2 cruise ship by Cunard Line, owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. is seen docked at Brooklyn Cruise Terminal as the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread in Brooklyn, New York City, U.S., December 20, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that 135 people were sickened with an “unknown” illness while on board a cruise ship operated by Cunard Line.

In an update issued on Jan. 31, the agency said that the predominant symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea, but it said the “causative agents” are “unknown.”

Out of about 2,700 passengers and crew, 135 were sickened on Cunard Line’s Queen Victoria, which is on a planned voyage from Jan. 22 to Feb. 12. However, the cases that have been currently reported “do not represent the number of active (symptomatic) gastrointestinal cases at any given port of call or at disembarkation,” the agency said.

In response, Cunard Cruise Line will increase “cleaning and disinfection procedures” on the ship and isolate the passengers and crew, according to the CDC.

The company confirmed to Fox News that a “small number of guests had reported symptoms of gastrointestinal illness on board Queen Victoria,” and it “immediately activated their enhanced health and safety protocols to ensure the well-being of all guests and crew onboard.”

The incident comes about a month after nearly 100 passengers on a Celebrity Cruises vessel, the Celebrity Constellation, were sickened with norovirus when it departed in early January from Florida, according to the CDC in a separate update.

The agency said that 92 passengers and eight crew members were sickened in that outbreak, with the main symptoms being diarrhea and vomiting. It’s the second outbreak in 2024.

Norovirus?

While the CDC report did not indicate the cause of the Cunard Cruise ship’s outbreak, norovirus has been the most common source of illnesses on cruises in recent years.

The CDC reported 14 outbreaks on cruise ships in 2023. Norovirus was listed as the causative agent in all but one of the incidents.

In a normal year, according to the CDC, norovirus causes between 19 and 21 million cases of vomiting and diarrhea, 109,000 hospitalizations, and 900 deaths across the United States. The virus also is associated with about 495,000 emergency department visits, mostly in younger children, the CDC says, while it adds that most outbreaks occur between November and April.

If there is a new strain of the virus, it says, there can be upward of 50 percent more norovirus illness. Norovirus outbreaks often occur in health care facilities, long-term care facilities, restaurants, childcare centers, schools, and cruise ships.

Noting the association between norovirus outbreaks and cruises, the CDC says that more than 90 percent of “outbreaks of diarrheal disease on cruise ships” are caused by the virus.

“These outbreaks often get media attention, which is why some people call norovirus the ‘cruise ship virus,'” the CDC’s website states. However, norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships account for only a small percentage (1 percent) of all reported norovirus outbreaks. Norovirus can be especially challenging to control on cruise ships because of the close living quarters, shared dining areas, and rapid turnover of passengers.”

Red Sea Issues

It comes as major cruise operator Carnival, which owns Cunard, said Tuesday that it would reroute cruise trips scheduled to transit through the Red Sea due to heightened tensions in the Middle East as Yemen-based Houthis have launched attacks on commercial vessels in the region in recent weeks. While no cruise ships have been targeted, the Houthis have attempted to capture multiple shipping vessels, drawing a response from U.S. military warships.

“Given recent developments and in close consultation with global security experts and government authorities, the company has made the decision to reroute itineraries for 12 ships across seven brands, which were scheduled to transit the Red Sea through May 2024,” Carnival said in a news release.

The company added that it has not been impacted by “booking trends” for cruise ships due to the “Red Sea situation,” adding that it has no transits in the region until November.

Other cruise operators have made similar decisions. Royal Caribbean and Swiss-Italian operator MSC Cruises have both announced they would cancel trips in the area amid the tensions.