A cruise ship that suffered a norovirus outbreak among passengers and crew is heading for the UK. Almost 10% of passengers aboard the Queen Mary 2 have been struck down by the virus, falling ill as the ship travelled through the Caribbean.
The Queen Mary 2 left Southampton on March 8 to follow a route through Caribbean ports and New York City and is due to return to the UK on Sunday (April 5). When it does, it will be carrying around 224 passengers and 17 crew members who fell ill during the several-thousand-mile trip. They started falling ill just 10 days into the voyage, at which point cruise chiefs raised the alarm with the US Center for Disease Control (CDC).
The government agency said the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) was alerted after the virus spread through nearly 10% of the 2,538 passengers aboard.
The VSP said it has advised crew members aboard the ship to increase "cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan".
The crew were also asked to collect "stool specimens from gastrointestinal illness cases for testing" as passengers were isolated.
The CDC lists norovirus as "the leading cause of vomiting and diarrhoea" in the US and warns that people typically develop symptoms 12 to 48 hours after exposure to the brutal bug.
Once they develop, people experience diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain, alongside a fever, headache and body aches.
By the time the vessel returns to the UK, most people currently suffering from the bug will likely find their symptoms have improved significantly.
They typically last only a few days, but the risk to the rest of the public and those not yet infected remains, as sufferers can remain contagious for up to 14 days.
Some people may also develop a secondary infection like gastroenteritis, categorised by many of the same symptoms as norovirus.
The gastrointestinal illness outbreak is the 12th this year on a cruise calling to US ports, with at least 10 of the other cases having been caused by norovirus, which is ultra contagious.
The number is already close to the total for all of 2024 when there were reports of 16 GI illness outbreaks. The year prior, there were slightly fewer, just 14 in total.
Express.co.uk has contacted Cunard Line for comment.
