85 Passengers Fall Sick on Holland America Cruise Ship
More than 80 passengers and several crew members on a recent Holland America cruise returned home with more than they bargained for.
A norovirus outbreak sickened 85 passengers and nine crew members aboard Holland America Line’s Rotterdam ship during a recent voyage that ended last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
What to know about his outbreak
The CDC report says 3.3% of the ship's 2,593 passengers and 0.9% of its 1,005 crew members fell ill as a result of norovirus, a common and highly contagious bug that causes vomiting, diarrhea and other gastrointestinal issues and can be transmitted via close contact, touching contaminated surfaces and then touching your mouth or nose and eating or drinking contaminated foods and beverages.
In response to the outbreak, Holland America Line and the Rotterdam crew took part in several protocols, including increased cleaning and disinfection procedures, the isolation of sick passengers and crew and the collection of stool samples from those exhibiting symptoms.
The ship also reported the sicknesses to the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP).
The Rotterdam departed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Dec. 28 and made stops in Curacao, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Jamaica before returning to Florida on Jan. 9.
Holland America Line speaks out
A spokesperson for Holland America Line released a statement on the matter, indicating that the company "conducted a comprehensive sanitization" of the ship upon its return to the United States.
"During its previous voyage, a number of guests onboard Rotterdam reported symptoms of gastrointestinal illness. The cases were mostly mild and quickly resolved," the statement said, via PEOPLE.
"The health of our guests and crew is a top priority and consistent with CDC protocols, we conducted a comprehensive sanitization of the ship when the cruise ended Friday in Fort Lauderdale.”