Unknown Outbreak Alert on Cruise Ship Issued by CDC, Could It Be Due to the Ocean or a Mystery Bug?

An unknown outbreak alert has been issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) after more than a hundred passengers and dozens of crew members aboard the Queen Victoria cruise ship experienced diarrhea and vomiting. The causative agents for the mysterious cruise ship illness remain undetermined, according to the US health body, which has conducted an investigation into the emerging health threat, even with no reported fatalities.

The said luxury cruise ship is currently on a 107-night world tour. It departed from Southampton in England, United Kingdom, on January 11 this year. The Queen Victoria traversed the Atlantic Ocean and passed Bermuda. It then made stops in Florida and San Francisco, California, following its passage through the Panama Canal, which connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. Last week, it reached Honolulu, Hawaii.

Related outbreaks (not related to sea or motion sickness) have been reported before affecting people aboard cruise ships. One of these maritime illnesses is caused by the "norovirus" which has been nicknamed the "cruise ship virus." While it is unclear if the recent unknown outbreak on Queen Victoria is related to the very contagious norovirus, the CDC says that gastrointestinal illnesses are uncommon on cruise ships.

Unknown Outbreak Alert

Earlier in February, the CDC issued an unknown outbreak alert following the gastrointestinal illness that affected 129 out of 1,824 passengers and 25 of 967 crew of the Queen Victoria, which is operated by Cunard Cruise Line. The cases were based on reports made by the people experiencing the predominant symptoms mentioned earlier during voyage dates between January 22 and February 6.

The provided number of cases could get higher since the current figure provided by the CDC do not represent the sum of symptomatic cases, including at ports or during disembarkation.

In response to the outbreak, Cunard Cruise Line and the vessel's crew has reported of taking the following actions:

Isolated sick passengers and crew from the healthy individuals.
Increased sanitary, cleaning, and disinfection procedures.
Informed both current and embarking passengers and crew regarding the outbreak.

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Cruise Ship Illness

Traveling the world on a luxury cruise ship or other types of vessels could be an aspiration for many. However, a traveler's expectation could turn the other way around due to motion sickness or even worse, pathogenic diseases. For instance, cruise ship illness is mostly associated with pathogens such as organisms like salmonella, shigella, and E. coli. This phenomenon could be attributed the long voyage trips, high passenger count, and sanitary reasons.

According to Dr. Aaron Glatt, cruise ships can become a "breeding" ground for microorganisms. These pathogens could quickly spread between individuals who are within the confined spaces of their living quarters of the ocean vessel, populated by hundreds or even thousands of people, as cited by WebMD.