The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the Silver Nova cruise ship operated by Silversea Cruises is experiencing a gastrointestinal (GI) outbreak which has sickened 23 of 633 passengers (3.63%) and 1 of 538 crew members (0.19%). The predominant symptom reported by the CDC is diarrhea.
The CDC has not yet identified the causative agent for the GI outbreak. Sixteen (16) of the last seventeen (17) GI outbreaks on cruise ships, dating back to the beginning of last year, were due to norovirus (with one case attributable to Salmonella and E. coli). The CDC does not always determine the cause of the outbreak which in this case may be because the cruise ship has not yet called on a U.S. port where the stool samples of the affected passengers can be collected and tested.
The Silver Nova is currently near the end of a 16 day, one-way “Easter Cruise” from Callao-Lima to Fort Lauderdale, which calls on Port Everglades tomorrow.
According to the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), norovirus outbreaks are primarily caused by contaminated food and/or water.
This is the fourth (4th) GI outbreak on a cruise ship this year. Last year, there were fourteen (14th) outbreaks with Princess Cruises and Celebrity Cruises each experiencing three (3) outbreaks.
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Image credit: Silver Nova – Narwhalian1 – CC BY-SA 4.0 commons / wikimedia; gastrointestinal virus – Dr Graham Beards.