Cruise ship hit with 3rd norovirus outbreak since May

A cruise ship has been hit by its third norovirus outbreak since May, raising fresh concerns over the highly contagious stomach virus onboard. The outbreak was reported July 12 aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird, two days after the ship departed Sitka and three days before its scheduled arrival in Juneau on July 15, the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) reported. The CDC said 18 of the ships 62 passengers had been struck down by the stomach bug, experiencing vomiting [and] abdominal cramps. In an effort to contain the outbreak, the ships crew isolated the sick passengers and ramped up cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan, officials said. The source of the outbreak is still unknown, the CDC said. VSP is remotely monitoring the situation, including review of the ships outbreak response and sanitation procedures, health officials said in a statement. Officials said those who fell ill have been asked to provide stool or vomitus samples to help identify the source of the outbreak. Samples are pending confirmatory testing, VSP said. The latest outbreak marks the third time the 152-foot-long ship, operated by Lindblad Expeditions, has been hit with a gastrointestinal illness outbreak since late May, according to the VSP. Of the eight cruise ship outbreaks reported at US ports in 2026, the Sea Bird is the only vessel to have been hit more than once, VSP added. The ship previously reported an outbreak during a May 26-31 voyage, when nine passengers and three crew members fell ill, the CDC reported. Weeks later, 20 of 95 people aboard fell ill during a June 25-30 trip between Juneau and Ketchikan.The post Cruise ship hit with 3rd norovirus outbreak since May appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.