Steve Quayle News Alerts

Nov. 26, 2002
MIKE BRANOM, Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. - At least 60 passengers aboard the Disney cruise liner Magic have contracted a flu-like illness this week, just days after the ship was scrubbed for hours because scores of people fell sick on an earlier trip.

The ship was disinfected Saturday after about 275 people developed the illness on the Magic's last seven-day trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Netherlands Antilles, which ended Saturday. The source of the infections of "Norwalk-like" virus has not been determined, Disney Cruise Line spokesman Mark Jaronski said.

The virus can cause diarrhea, stomach pain and vomiting for up to two days.

Jaronski said there are about 2,400 passengers and 950 crew members aboard the current Magic cruise, which left Saturday night from Port Canaveral, about 50 miles east of Orlando. It spent Tuesday in Grand Cayman and is touring the Caribbean.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is investigating and should have test results determining the virus by the end of the week, spokeswoman Bernadette Burden said.

Overseeing Saturday's disinfection efforts were four experts the CDC: two inspectors and two epidemiologists. Also, Disney had brought aboard the ship the CDC's former director of vessel sanitation.

However, the cause of the illness was not expected to vanish immediately.

"The federal authorities said this is not the type of thing you turn on and off," Jaronski told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "It's more of a situation where it slowly abates."

A cruise, where hundreds of passengers and crew mingle in close quarters for days or weeks, can provide ideal conditions for the Norwalk-like virus to spread. The virus is spread through food and water and close contact with infected people or things they have touched.

"That's tough because (person-to-person contact) seems to be the biggest variable," Jaronski said.

The Norwalk virus and a group of Norwalk-like viruses are among many common micro-organisms that can cause intestinal diseases, according to the CDC. In May, a Norwalk-like virus infected more than 100 people at a London hospital and sickened 38 British marines in Afghanistan.

A Norwalk-like virus also is suspected of sickening more than 500 passengers and crew aboard the Holland America Line cruise ship Amsterdam the past few weeks. Last week Holland America canceled 10-day cruise out of Port Everglades to allow time for a thorough decontamination of the Amsterdam.

The CDC said in a statement released Saturday it does not suspect that the outbreaks on the Magic and Amsterdam are intentional or related to each other in any way.

"These are two separate incidents," Burden said. "There are no direct links."

Meanwhile, nearly a dozen people fell ill aboard the Amsterdam's sister vessel, which arrived in San Diego on Monday. About 10 passengers on the Statendam complained of fever, nausea and other flu-like symptoms.

Earlier this month, 42 passengers on a cruise to Hawaii also became sick aboard the 720-foot Statendam. And in July, 176 people aboard the Holland America ship Ryndam fell ill while on a voyage in the Gulf of Alaska.

The virus is named for a gastrointestinal outbreak in Norwalk, Ohio, 30 years ago.

ON THE NET
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Vessel Sanitation Program: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/
Disney Cruise Lines: http://www.disneycruise.com
Holland America: http://www.hollandamerica.com

http://www.miami.com/mld/miami/news/local/4609793.htm