Federal health officials are reporting that some 219 passengers and crew suffered with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea during a recent Princess Cruises’ Ruby Princess voyage (RU305P from February 26–March 5, 2023).
To date, the etiology of the illness has not been discovered.
In response to the outbreak, Princess Cruises and the crew aboard the ship reported the following actions:
- Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to the ship’s outbreak prevention and response plan.
- Collected stool specimens from gastrointestinal illness cases to send to the CDC lab for pathogenic identification.
Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) epidemiologists and environmental health officers will board the ship in Galveston, Texas, on March 5 to conduct a formal outbreak investigation.
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