Celebrity Summit Cruise Ship linked to a Norovirus Outbreak

4 Port Terminal Boulevard, Bayonne, 07002 New Jersey, United States

The CDC is investigating a Norovirus Outbreak linked to the Celebrity Summit ship operated by Celebrity Cruises that sailed from Cape Liberty, NJ from May 15 to May 25, 2023, Voyage number: 58978. 152 passengers have reported being ill during the voyage out of a total of 2144 (7.09%) passengers onboard. Of the 963 crew members, 25 have reported being ill during the voyage, that is 2.60 % of all crew. The predominant symptoms are diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and headache.

The gastrointestinal illness cases reported are totals for the entire voyage and do not represent the number of active (symptomatic) gastrointestinal cases at any given port of call or at disembarkation.

In response to the outbreak, Celebrity Cruises and the crew onboard the ship reported the following actions:
- Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to the ship’s outbreak prevention and response plan.
- Notified current guests of the situation onboard and encouraged illness reporting and good hand hygiene.
- Collected and sent stool specimens from gastrointestinal illness cases to the CDC laboratory.
- Provided twice daily reports of gastrointestinal illness cases to VSP during the outbreak investigation.
- Consulted with VSP about sanitation cleaning procedures and reporting ill cases.
- Notified embarking guests of the situation onboard and encouraged illness reporting and good hand hygiene.

VSP monitored the situation and the ship’s outbreak response and sanitation procedures.

Norovirus is very contagious and is easily transmitted from person to person most through the oral/fecal route. Considering that hand sanitizer does NOT work against this virus, it is important to wash your hands with soap frequently. Use bleach to clean and disinfect surfaces.

In case you experience vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea, report it now. It can help to detect & resolve outbreaks early and prevent others from being harmed, and it enables better surveillance. If symptoms persist, seek medical care.

Source: www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/outbreak/2022/Arcadia_12-29.html