Norovirus outbreak infects over 240 people on month-long luxury cruise

Hundreds of passengers who contracted norovirus aboard the Queen Mary 2 have been quarantined, the CDC says.

A norovirus outbreak aboard a luxury cruise ship has struck passengers and crew members hard, with more than 240 people falling sick on the Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said in an outbreak report that 224 of the ship’s 2,538 passengers have fallen ill from the virus, as well as an additional 17 staff members.

The vessel departed Southampton in the U.K. on March 8 for a nearly month-long cruise to New York and then through the Caribbean, making various stops along the island chain. It is due back in Southampton on April 6.

Infectious disease expert Dr. William Schaffner, a professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told CNN Travel earlier this year that norovirus is “known obviously as the cruise ship virus.”

It’s highly contagious and thrives in places where people gather in close quarters, making cruise ships susceptible to outbreaks. There have been 10 norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships so far this year, the CDC reports.

“This is a virus that can infect you with very few viral particles. In other words, the infectious dose is very small,” said Schaffner.

“It can persist for days or even a week on environmental surfaces, which means that if you put your fingers on a contaminated surface, you can pick up a few viral particles, touch your mouth and then initiate an infection.”

According to the CDC, this particular outbreak has seen passengers fall ill with vomiting and diarrhea. The health agency says Cunard had stepped up its cleaning and disinfection protocols, and that sick passengers and crew are being quarantined.