Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs
More than 200 people aboard a still-at-sea Cunard Line cruise bound for New York, including members of the crew, contracted norovirus in the latest cruise ship outbreak of the nasty stomach bug.
Of the 2,538 guests on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2, 224 reported getting ill on the current voyage along with 17 crew members, this month, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The cruise departed from Southampton, England on March 8 to set out for New York and later the Caribbean. The entire journey, however, doesn’t conclude until April 6, leaving the rest of the guests stuck at sea as the viral infection sweeps through the ship.
“We have had a small number of guests on board Queen Mary 2 who have reported symptoms of gastrointestinal illness. We are continuing to closely monitor the guests and, as a precaution, completed a comprehensive deep clean of the ship and immediately activated our enhanced health and safety protocols, which are proving to be effective,” a Cunard spokesperson told USA TODAY in an emailed statement.
Another ship, the Seabourn Encore with Seabourn Cruise Line, also has a growing norovirus outbreak on its hands. So far, 12 of the 461 guests aboard have reported being ill, along with 22 of the 405 crew members, according to the CDC.
The Seabourn voyage also doesn’t end until April 9.
All those infected on both ships were isolated, according to the CDC.
There have been 12 reported outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on cruises so far this year. Of those, 10 were tied to the norovirus, an unpleasant stomach virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea.
Some cruise lines have been unfortunate enough to have more than one bout of the outbreak tied to their name.
Two Princess Cruises ships and three Holland America cruises reported outbreaks so far this year.
About 2,500 norovirus cases are reported annually, according to the CDC. So far, only about 1% originated on cruises.
Last year was the worst year for gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruises, with a staggering 16 reported in total.
