Investigation Update on the Celebrity Infinity

Cruise Line: Celebrity Cruises

Cruise Ship: Celebrity Infinity

Voyage Dates: March 17 to April 1, 2013

Number of passengers who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of passengers onboard: 101 of 2086 (4.84%)

Number of crew who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of crew onboard: 17 of 927 (2.05%)

Predominant symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea

Causative agent: Norovirus

Actions: In response to the outbreak, Celebrity Cruises and the crew aboard the ship took the following actions:

• Increased cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan,
• Made announcements to both notify onboard passengers of the outbreak and encourage case reporting,
• Collected 10 stool specimens from ill passengers and crew for submission to the CDC lab,
• Made twice daily reports of gastrointestinal illness cases to the VSP,
• Consulted with CDC on plans for:
  • Disembarkation plans for active cases, terminal and transport infection control procedures,
  • Passenger notification procedures and the planned delayed embarkation schedule in Fort Lauderdale on 1 April.

Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and an epidemiologist boarded the ship on arrival in Fort Lauderdale on April 1, 2013 to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. Stool specimens were sent to the CDC lab for testing.