Cruise ship disinfected after norovirus outbreak

The Ruby Princess cruise ship – a vessel operated by Princess Cruises – has been docked in San Francisco, US, for disinfecting following a norovirus outbreak that affected around 100 passengers and 23 crewmembers.

The ship had left San Francisco on 12 June, and was due to travel north up the coast to Canada and Alaska, before returning on 2 July.

Around two weeks into the journey, officials from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) received reports of an outbreak – defined by a threshold of 3% of the total number of passengers or crew.

The ship was carrying 3,032 passengers, and 1,144 crew at the time of the outbreak. All infected passengers and crew have now been isolated.

The vessel arrived back in San Francisco on 2 July, and is now undergoing disinfection to eradicate all traces of the disease.

Norovirus is highly contagious, and symptoms include diarrhoea and vomiting. It is typically transmitted through hand-to-mouth contact with contaminated objects and bodily excretions.

The outbreak is the third of its kind to affect a Princess Cruises ship this year. It follows a similar outbreak on the Caribbean Princess cruise ship in May, which affected 160 passengers and crew. Another outbreak, on the Star Princess, was confirmed in March of this year.