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27 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, 94111 California, United States
In a recent incident, the Ruby Princess, a cruise ship operated by Princess Cruises, experienced a gastrointestinal illness outbreak. The causative agent was identified as norovirus. The outbreak affected 103 passengers out of 3,001 (3.43%) and 12 crew members out of 1,142 (1.05%) during the voyage from December 2 to December 18, 2024. The outbreak was discovered when passengers and crew members reported their symptoms to the medical center onboard. This early detection allowed for immediate steps to be taken to limit the spread of the illness. The ship's medical staff evaluated the symptoms to confirm if they met the case definition for acute gastroenteritis (AGE). The ship's outbreak response and sanitation procedures were remotely monitored by the VSP.The predominant symptoms reported by the affected individuals were vomiting and diarrhea. The outbreak was reported to the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) on December 16, 2024. The voyage, identified as R440, witnessed an increase in cleaning and disinfection procedures as part of the outbreak prevention and response plan initiated by Princess Cruises and the ship's crew.
It is important to note that the reported cases are totals for the entire voyage and do not imply that all people were sick at the same time. The reporting of gastrointestinal illness is crucial in detecting outbreaks quickly and taking steps to limit the spread of the illness.
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