:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(776x572:778x574)/Viking-Polaris-is-seen-anchored-in-waters-of-the-Atlantic-Ocean-042325-tout-95c1c3c179164c218ac90848df382cde.jpg?w=1920&resize=1920,1267&ssl=1 "Mystery Illness Sickens Over 30 People on 2-Week Viking Cruise")
Greater than two dozen passengers and a number of crew members on a Viking cruise ship have fallen sick throughout its two-week voyage, in line with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
The CDC famous that the outbreak occurred on the Viking Polaris cruise ship, which departed on Friday, April 11, and is scheduled to finish on Wednesday, April 23. The causative agent of the outbreak, which was first reported on Friday, April 18, is at present described as “unknown,” per the company.
To date, 28 of 355 passengers and 4 out of 260 crew members reported feeling sick onboard, the CDC stated. The sick passengers reported signs of vomiting and diarrhea.
In response to the outbreak, Viking Polaris crew members carried out their prevention and response plan which included “elevated cleansing and disinfection procedures,” “isolating passengers and crew,” consulting with the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program about “sanitation cleansing procedures” and reporting sick instances.
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The crew additionally collected “stool specimens from gastrointestinal sickness instances for testing” — which is able to assist the CDC decide what brought on the sickness, it says.
Viking Expedition Operations, which runs the cruise, didn’t instantly reply to PEOPLE’s request for remark.
In keeping with Cruise Mapper, the Viking Polaris ship made port in New York Metropolis on Wednesday, April 23, and the ship is at present nonetheless there after crusing to a number of totally different cities in Canada, together with Toronto and Quebec Metropolis.
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The CDC stated that the “norovirus,” which is a “very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea,” is usually “a explanation for gastrointestinal sickness outbreaks on cruise ships.”
The norovirus signs embody diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and abdomen ache, which might develop 12 to 48 hours after being uncovered, in line with the CDC. Most individuals with the sickness get higher inside 1-3 days however can nonetheless be infectious, per the company.
The CDC is at present testing whether or not norovirus is the reason for this outbreak.
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Earlier this month, over 200 passengers and 17 crew aboard a Cunard Line ship reported being ill following a norovirus outbreak. A Cunard Line ship spokesperson instructed USA TODAY in a press release that it was intently monitoring visitors and “accomplished a complete deep clear of the ship and instantly activated our enhanced well being and security protocols.”
Final month, practically 70 passengers and 13 crew additionally reported being sick aboard a Princess Cruises ship, which deliberate to cease in Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, and Aruba. A spokesperson for the Cruise Line instructed PEOPLE that the crew “promptly enacted enhanced sanitization protocols” on the first indicators of sickness.
In keeping with the CDC, there have been over 2,400 norovirus outbreaks reported from August 2024 by April 9, 2025.
