Crown Princess reports over 100 sickened with likely norovirus
In an update to a report yesterday, the suspected norovirus outbreak on the Princess Cruises vessel, the Crown Princess has grown, according to the latest update from the company.
According to Princess Cruises PR Manager, Karen Candy, the total number of persons ill now stands at 117 (currently 94 passengers and 23 crew members). This is up 34 cases since yesterday.
All individuals who are ill have been isolated in their cabins until they are not contagious.
Princess notes that historically, gastrointestinal illness rates aboard cruise ships are very low.
In 2013, there were 7 norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships reported to the CDC, involving a total of 1,238 passengers. To put that into perspective, approximately 21.3 million passengers sailed on Cruise Line International Association member cruise ships in 2013 so this figure represents approximately six one thousandths of one percent (.006%) of global passengers. Additionally, the CDC reports there are about 20 million norovirus cases in any typical year on land in the United States.