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Abstract
Isakbaeva,
E.
T.; Widdowson, M.
A.; Beard,
R. S.; Bulens, S. N.; Mullins, J.; Monroe, S.
S.;
Bresee, J.; Sassano, P.; Cramer, E. H.; and Glass, R.
I. "Norovirus transmission on cruise ship," Emerging
Infectious Diseases, 2005, 11:1, 154-157
A
large outbreak of Norovirus gastroenteritis among passengers and crew
of a cruise ship
travelling from Florida (USA) to the Caribbean
is described. A total of 513 passengers and 74
crew members reported acute gastroenteritis on 6 consecutive cruises
during
November 2002-January 2003, despite one week sanitation of the ship
after
cruise 2. Epidemiological investigation revealed
that the disease was transmitted through
food, person-to-person contact or environmental contamination. Of the
55 tested
faecal samples from all 6 cruises, 25 (45%) were positive for Norovirus
and
belonged to 6 strains. It is suggested that efforts to control
gastroenteritis
outbreaks on cruise ships should address all possible modes of
Norovirus
transmission, including foodborne, environmental persistence and
person-to-person spread.
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