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Norovirus Outbreak in Rotterdam Holland America Line Cruise
9 months ago •source cdc.gov • business
1850 Eller Drive, Fort Lauderdale, 33316 Florida, United States
Holland America Line's cruise ship, Rotterdam, has experienced a second outbreak of gastrointestinal illness in March 2025. The causative agent has been identified as norovirus, affecting 89 passengers and 4 crew members.The Rotterdam, carrying 2,670 passengers and 970 crew members, reported the outbreak during its voyage from March 7-16, 2025. The predominant symptoms among the affected individuals were diarrhea and vomiting. The outbreak was reported to the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) on March 15, 2025.
The outbreak was discovered when passengers and crew members started reporting their symptoms to the medical center onboard. The early detection of the outbreak allowed for immediate actions to be taken to limit the spread of the illness. In response, Holland America Line and the ship's crew increased cleaning and disinfection procedures, collected stool specimens for testing, isolated ill passengers and crew, and consulted with VSP about sanitation cleaning procedures and reporting ill cases. The VSP remotely monitored the situation, including reviewing the ship's outbreak response and sanitation procedures.
Gastrointestinal illness is a common term for acute gastroenteritis (AGE). Reporting such illnesses is crucial as it helps detect outbreaks quickly, allowing for immediate actions to limit the spread of the illness. Medical staff evaluate symptoms to see if they meet the case definition for AGE. Cruise ships are required to report these cases.
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Bro, people need to stop taking cruises at this point. The amount of gastro/noro outbreaks on multiple cruise lines since November has been insane! Either that or people need to check themselves, wash their hands and not travel if they've recently been around someone ill or if they themselves aren't feeling the best.
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Exactly! Literally trapped with no where to go except for bowing to the porcelain throne.
Wow! Never thought of that! They should wash their hands?! Hmmm