Two cruise ships in Southeast Alaska have reported norovirus outbreaks in recent weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Ruby Princess – a Princess Cruises ship – had 102 of its 3,032 passengers as well as 23 crew members fall ill.
The National Geographic Sea Bird also reported a norovirus outbreak. More than a quarter of the 68 passengers on the smaller vessel fell ill, as well as one of its crew members. This is the Sea Bird’s second outbreak this year.
Louisa Castrodale manages the Infectious Disease Program at the Alaska Department of Health. She said noroviruses are a family of highly infectious gastrointestinal diseases that cause vomiting and diarrhea. She said the virus can spread easily when large groups of people are together in a small space, like a cruise ship or large event.
“This is a family of viruses and illness that happens year round, and kind of everywhere,” she said. “And it’s just, it can become explosive when you have these settings where you have a lot of people in confined spaces.”
Castrodale said the state doesn’t track norovirus cases locally, but receives reports of outbreaks from the CDC and helps get information out to local communities that could be affected.
Castrodale said the best way to prevent norovirus from spreading is by following good sanitation practices.
“A lot are very simple, like making sure that there’s good hand washing, making sure that if there is somebody who’s ill – and there is vomiting or diarrhea, things like that – to be cleaning that up with appropriate disinfectants,” she said.
She also recommended people who are ill to stay home until they feel better.
The CDC recommends cruise ship passengers report illness to the ship’s medical center and to wash hands frequently to prevent getting sick.
According to the cruise ship calendar from the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska, the Sea Bird is expected to be back in Juneau on July 15. The Ruby Princess is scheduled to come back to Juneau on July 16.
