Virus hits Cunard’s new Queen Victoria cruise ship

Even a queen is not immune from a stomach virus.

Some passengers and crew aboard the Queen Victoria, Cunard’s newest ocean liner that launched earlier this month, have been sickened with gastroenteritis, a Cunard spokesman said today.

“Currently only 2.19% of total guests and 0.3% of total crew are experiencing these symptoms [out of a total of 3,000 people],” said Brian O’Connor, director of public relations for Cunard Line.

Gastroenteritis viruses, of which there are many varieties, cause vomiting and diarrhea and, sometimes, abdominal cramps. Symptoms generally last a couple of days. It is not considered dangerous, although the very young and the very old …

may be hit harder. Dehydration may be a problem for some.

The virus is spread by food handlers, by contact with those who have the virus and by contaminated drinking water, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control website.

“Gastroenteritis is extremely common in the U.S. and UK,” O’Connor said. “As there were no such incidents on the preceding voyage, it is likely that a guest brought it onboard when they embarked on Dec. 21.”

Cruise ships also are a likely spot for such an outbreak because passengers live and socialize in close quarters, the CDC says. But the agency also points out that we often hear more about this because cruise ships are required to report outbreaks.

The best defense against the virus (besides not being around someone who has it) is hand washing.

— Catharine Hamm, Los Angeles Times Travel Editor

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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 27, 2007 at 6:01 pm by Catharine Hamm and is filed under Europe, Great Britain, Honeymoon, Spa & Romance, Luxury Travel, News, Tips & Advice, Tours & Cruises. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.