A person has died on board a cruise ship as a suspected norovirus outbreak sparks chaos for 1,700 passengers.
Passengers and crew of the Ambassador Cruise Line ship, including British nationals, are currently in Bordeaux with more than 50 people reporting symptoms. A 90-year-old passenger was found dead on board and French officials said the woman suffered from symptoms of norovirus – a form of gastroenteritis which causes vomiting and diarrhoea.
French officials also said the first signs of symptoms among passengers were recorded on May 11. All passengers are now in quarantine and will be tested for signs of norovirus. It is unclear, however, how long they will have to remain in France.
It is understood up to fifty passengers have been affected by symptoms consistent with an acute gastrointestinal infection.
“Gastrointestinal viruses like norovirus are very common on cruise ships,” says Dr Lucy Hooper, co-founder of Coyne Medical. “Norovirus is often called stomach flu, and predominantly starts with nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, sometimes with a fever as well.”
“You only need a tiny number of particles of the virus itself to pass it on between people,” said Hooper. “It can also go on surfaces, so you don’t need to touch an infected person to catch it.
“You could catch the virus by just touching a door handle or tongs at a food buffet, so that’s why norovirus can become such an issue in an environment like a cruise.”
Meanwhile, 10 Britons who are thought to be residents of the UK overseas territories of St Helena and Ascension Island, and connected to a cruise ship outbreak of hantavirus are being “brought to the UK to complete their self-isolation as a precautionary measure”, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
The UKHSA said the relocation involves “some contacts who are already isolating, to places where they can safely self-isolate with access to appropriate specialist medical services.”
It added: “This is because England’s NHS high consequence infectious disease network is well equipped to respond if they become unwell. Currently none of these contacts are symptomatic and this is precautionary to support communities in UK overseas territories. We will set out where they will isolate in due course.”
So far, 11 hantavirus cases have been reported among people on the MV Hondius cruise, including three deaths. Nine of the 11 cases are confirmed, with two more probable cases.
