Investigation Update on the Norwegian Star

Cruise Line: Norwegian Cruise Line

Cruise Ship: Norwegian Star

Voyage Dates: January 5-19, 2014

Number of passengers who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of passengers onboard: 130 of 2318 (5.61%)

Number of crew who have reported being ill during the voyage out of total number of crew onboard: 12 of 1039 (1.15%)

Predominant symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea

Causative agent: Norovirus

Actions: In response to the outbreak, Norwegian Cruise Line 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 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:
  • Passenger notification procedures and the planned delayed embarkation schedule in Miami, FL on January 19, 2014,
  • Disembarkation plans for active cases, terminal and transport infection control procedures.

CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and an epidemiologist boarded the ship on arrival in Miami, Florida on January 19, 2014 to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. Specimens were sent to the CDC lab for testing.