A norovirus outbreak on a Holland America Line cruise ship sickened nearly 90 people – marking the third time the wretched stomach virus has swept through the ocean liner this year, health officials said.
Of the 2,057 passengers onboard the Eurodam, 79 reported falling ill with the dreadful winter illness during the 10-day voyage from Florida to the Western Caribbean – while 9 of 834 crew members were also impacted, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The latest report marks the eighth gastrointestinal illness outbreak on a cruise ship in just the first two months of the year, the healthy agency said.
Norovirus was linked to four preceding cases – two of which rocked passengers on Holland America ships.
“During its current voyage, a number of guests onboard Eurodam reported symptoms of gastrointestinal illness,” a spokesperson for Holland America told The Post.
“The cases were mostly mild and quickly resolved. We initiated enhanced sanitation protocols in conjunction with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to minimize further transmission, including continuous disinfection of the ship.”
The infected group experienced diarrhea and vomiting on the 935-foot-long vessel that set sail on Feb. 19 from Fort Lauderdale, the CDC reported.
The cruise liner isolated ailing passengers and workers, increased cleaning and disinfection measures to contain the outbreak and collected stool samples from those impacted for further testing.
The 17-year-old ship is set to return to Florida on Saturday following planned stops made in the Dominican Republic, Netherlands Antilles, the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, according to CruiseMapper.
The highly contagious illness, which is often associated with cruise ships, was first reported to the CDC’s vessel sanitation program on Feb. 23.
This is the second norovirus outbreak to strike a Holland America cruise ship this month.
The surge in infections comes roughly three weeks after 166 passengers and 19 crew members suffered norovirus symptoms aboard Holland America’s MS Rotterdam.
The cruise line’s Volendam ship also reported that 104 people — 93 vacationers and 11 personnel — were diagnosed with the virus on a three-week voyage in January, according to the health agency.
