A British passenger has died and dozens are ill following a suspected norovirus outbreak on a cruise ship with nearly 2,000 people on board.
French health officials have confined 1,700 tourists and crew on the Ambassador Cruise Line ship in Bordeaux, southwestern France, after concerns over a passenger’s death.
Dozens of people are showing symptoms of the sickness bug, which causes vomiting and diarrhoea.
The vessel, with the majority of the passengers from Britain or Ireland, docked near Bordeaux yesterday, where health authorities embarked to collect samples for testing.
Ambassador Cruise Line told Metro that a 92-year-old male guest on the ship passed away on Sunday. May 10.
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A further 49 people have shown symptoms of the highly infectious illness, which can spread through surfaces and on contact. This is around 2.9% of people on board the vessel.
Ambassador Cruise Line said the passenger didn’t report any gastroenteritis symptoms, and the cause of death is yet to be confirmed by the coroner.
It said in a statement: ‘We are providing every support to the deceased’s friends and family and extend our most sincere condolences to them at this difficult time.’
The company said any illnesses aboard are taken ‘extremely seriously,’ and that enhanced sanitation and prevention measures were immediately put into place across the ship in line with public health procedures.
‘The comprehensive health and safety measures introduced include increased cleaning and disinfection measures in public areas, assisted service in selected dining venues and ongoing guidance to guests regarding hand hygiene, including regular hand washing, use of hand sanitisers and the prompt reporting of any symptoms to the onboard medical team,’ Ambassador Cruise Line said.
All passengers and crew have been told to stay on board the cruise as per instructions from the French authorities, with all shore trips cancelled.
Passengers will be allowed to leave after they have been given a clearance from the officials.
The cruise ship had left the Shetland Islands on May 6 before stopping in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
From there, it continued to Liverpool and to Brest in western France before heading to Bordeaux.
It was due to travel on to Spain before the suspected infection put a stop to the journey.
Meanwhile, the passengers from the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius cruise were evacuated earlier this week following their journey from Argentina and the South Atlantic to Tenerife, where the ship was able to dock on Sunday.
British passengers were tested and evacuated to a hospital in Merseyside, while the cruise ship continued to the Netherlands for disinfection carrying the body of a German tourist who had died of a suspected hantavirus infection.
Officials from dozens of countries rushed to trace people who may have been in contact with passengers from the cruise after some people disembarked on their own on the island of St Helena.
Ten people from the remote St Helena and Ascension Island, which are British overseas territories, were later flown to the UK to self-isolate as a precaution after they had contact with infected passengers.
The World Health Organisation and experts insist that hantavirus is not like Covid-19 after mounting concern over the deadly illness.
Over the weekend, the Caribbean Princess cruise was hit with a viral norovirus outbreak, with more than 100 passengers falling ill.
The massive ship carrying 3,116 passengers and crew was on its way to the Dominican Republic when the violent sickness bug ripped through it.
Metro has approached Ambassador Cruise Line for a comment.
What are the symptoms of norovirus?
The norovirus bug causes stomach inflammation (acute gastroenteritis).
It is spread through contact with contaminated surfaces, faeces, vomit or coming to direct contact with an infected person.
You might experience the following if you have been infected:
- Feeling sick (nausea)
- Diarrhoea
- Being sick (vomiting)
- These last two may even occur at the same time, which gives norovirus its notoriety as an illness you don’t want to get
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