Back-to-back norovirus outbreaks on Cunard's Queen Mary 2 sicken passengers, crew
Passengers and crew members got sick with norovirus during two back-to-back outbreaks aboard a Cunard Line ship.
Among 2,565 guests on its Queen Mary 2 vessel, 326 reported being ill during its current voyage, along with 65 crew, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The ship departed on a round-trip sailing from New York on Saturday, according to CruiseMapper.
During a previous voyage that left Southampton, England, on Dec. 14, 138 guests out of 2,430 reported getting sick in addition to a dozen crew, the health agency said.
Cases are only counted one time, even if their isolation period extends to a second voyage, the CDC's National Center for Environmental Health told Paste BN. Sick guests or crew would only be counted twice if they had a different illness.
In addition to the shorter sailings, Cunard has also operated longer, overlapping itineraries aboard Queen Mary 2 this month. Those include a two-and-a-half-week voyage that ended Saturday and a nearly month-long itinerary that began Dec. 14, per CruiseMapper.
In both outbreaks, the main symptoms were vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps.
Cunard increased disinfection and cleaning onboard and isolated sick guests and crew, among other steps, according to the CDC.
"We can confirm that a number of guests on board Queen Mary 2 have reported symptoms of gastrointestinal illness," Cunard told Paste BN in an emailed statement. "In response, enhanced health protocols have been implemented, including additional deep cleaning of public areas and staterooms, and close monitoring by our medical team, to ensure the comfort, health, and wellbeing of all guests and crew."
The news comes after norovirus outbreaks on two Holland America Line ships and a Princess Cruises vessel earlier this month. Those are typically more common in the winter when temperatures are cooler, according to the CDC.
The health agency has logged 16 outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on cruise ships that met its threshold for public notification this year. Norovirus was listed as the causative agent in 13 of those.
While the illness is frequently associated with cruises, those make up just 1% of all reported outbreaks.
This story has been updated to add new information.
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for Paste BN based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.