Nearly 100 passengers fell ill aboard the cruise ship Celebrity Infinity, which docked in San Diego Monday to undergo disinfection, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
The 95 sick passengers, out of 2,117 on board, suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, but the cause is unknown, according to the CDC. Five crew members also fell ill.
The vessel left San Diego March 29 for a cruise to the Mexican Riviera.
The CDC said Celebrity was sending corporate management, and hotel and housekeeping teams, to assist with an infection control response plan, and was consulting with the agency on plans for “comprehensive sanitation procedures.”
Celebrity did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The CDC sent a Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer and an epidemiologist to San Diego to conduct evaluate the outbreak and response activities. Specimens are being collected and will be tested by CDC to determine what caused the suspected norovirus outbreak.
According to the online publication Maritime Executive, outbreaks of gastrointestinal sickness occurred on Celebrity Infinity in 2013 and 2006.
This is the fourth outbreak of sickness this year on cruise ships calling at the U.S., according to the magazine. The other outbreaks occurred on Norwegian Pearl, Celebrity Equinox and Grandeur of the Seas.
—City News Service