Alaska – 73 Passengers Got Sick Due To Norovirus On American Cruise Ship

The dreaded norovirus has affected a cruise ship in Alaska. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the said outbreak that made 73 sick in the Holland America cruise ship 781-foot Zaandam.

Holland America issued a statement on Friday confirming that several of their passengers fell ill with a stomach virus on Monday. It also shared that it activated a protocol to isolate their passengers in their cabins.

The cruise ship also said that their staff cleaned railings, door handles and other commonly touched surfaces to prevent the virus from spreading even further. The importance of hand-washing to prevent viruses was also stressed by both officials and social media users alike.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Keep Washing YOUR Hands Today After the Weekend YOU have NO idea Where OTHER Peoples hands have been !!!!!!!!!! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/handhygiene?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#handhygiene</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/foodsafety?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#foodsafety</a> Norovirus</p>&mdash; CleanDrop (@CleanDropMobile) <a href="https://twitter.com/CleanDropMobile/status/1011205010225590273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2018</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">How Effective Cleaning Helps to Stop the Spread of Norovirus <a href="https://t.co/UCA8DLGi59">https://t.co/UCA8DLGi59</a> <a href="https://t.co/H5D2ZxTbfI">pic.twitter.com/H5D2ZxTbfI</a></p>&mdash; Charlotte Products (@CharlottePrdts) <a href="https://twitter.com/CharlottePrdts/status/1011237144462086145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Norovirus is highly contagious. It can also cause vomiting and diarrhea usually a day or two after exposure. The only relief is that most people fully recover in a matter of days.

The ship affected is carrying more than 2,000 passengers and crew. It was in Juneau in Friday and is not expected to return to Seattle before July 2. There are still additional stops in Alaska including ports in Hoonah, Anchorage, Homer, Kodiak and Sitka.

The U.S. Forest Service also keeps a tight watch on reports of outbreaks on cruise ships, so it can make the necessary adjustments to improve sanitation.

The CDC said the Holland America case is already the sixth reported norovirus outbreak on a cruise ship this year and the second in Alaska. Prior to it, the 610-foot Silver Shadow reported 36 people fell ill during a May voyage that included Dutch Harbor, Kodiak and Homer.

Source:

https://www.ktoo.org/2018/06/22/holland-america-cruise-in-alaska-hit-by-norovirus/