More than 240 people on board the luxury Queen Mary 2 cruise ship have fallen ill with the highly contagious Norovirus. The vessel set sail on March 8 from Southampton and is due to return to the English port on April 6. During the voyage, 224 of the 2,538 passengers fell sick with the gastrointestinal virus, while 17 of the 1,232 crew members also became unwell, according to CDC data. Norovirus is "known as the cruise ship virus." The CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP), which keeps track of outbreaks at sea, also confirmed that it is "remotely monitoring the situation, including review of the ship's outbreak response and sanitation procedures." The cruise line also highlighted the "comprehensive deep clean of the ship." It said its swift activation of health and safety protocols was proving to be effective, adding that "we are already seeing a reduction in reported cases." The outbreak comes on the heels of 2024, the worst year for cruise ships' gastrointestinal outbreaks in a decade. The majority of the outbreaks are due to Norovirus. The CDC reported a total of 16 gastrointestinal cruise outbreaks across 2024, the highest in over a decade, while in 2023, there were a total of 14 reported outbreaks. @ https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/02/travel/norovirus-outbreak-queen-mary-2-cunard-cruise-ship/index.html
