Second Norovirus Outbreak on Star Princess

Sixty-one passengers on board the Star Princess cruise ship have fallen ill due to norovirus. The Princess Cruises-operated vessel completed a 15-day Hawaiian cruise on October 4 and is currently docked at its homeport in Vancouver.

Reports say that two passengers were transported from the dock to the hospital via an ambulance. Another norovirus-stricken passenger fell so ill he decided to fly home instead of re-boarding the ship in Hawaii.

Norovirus is generally not deadly, but causes vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain and is transmitted through contaminated food, water or by person-to-person contact.

Star Princess had 2,590 passengers on board at the time, and the crew tried to slow the spread of sickness by conducting a sanitation cleaning and campaign throughout the vessel. Passengers who contracted the virus were urged to remain in their staterooms until symptoms subsided. 

Any outbreak of norovirus exceeding three percent of passengers requires special protocol and disinfection of a vessel. Princess Cruises says the number of people on the Star Princess was fewer than three percent.

In May, a larger outbreak saw 135 passengers on board the Star Princess suffer with the virus.