Investigation Update on the Celebrity Solstice

Cruise Line: Celebrity Cruises

Cruise Ship: Celebrity Solstice

Voyage Dates: April 8 to April 25, 2013

Number of passengers who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of passengers onboard: 183 of 2849 (6.42%)

Number of crew who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of crew onboard: 2 of 1188 (0.18%)

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,
• Making announcements to both notify onboard passengers of the outbreak and encourage case reporting,
• Collecting stool specimens from ill passengers and crew for submission to the CDC lab,
• Making twice daily reports of gastrointestinal illness cases to the VSP,
• Consulting with CDC on plans for:
  • Passenger notification procedures and the planned delayed embarkation schedule in Honolulu, Hawaii on 25 April,
  • Disembarkation plans for active cases, terminal and transport infection control procedures.

A CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer and an epidemiologist will board the ship on arrival in Honolulu, Hawaii on April 25, 2013 to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. Specimens will be sent to the CDC lab for testing.