The cruise industry continues to grow, with ever-larger boats and an estimated 37.1 million passengers set to sail by 2025, according to industry body Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).
But another statistic related to these trips is increasing.
Latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that 2024 was the worst year for gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruise ships in more than a decade.
Norovirus at sea
CDC data suggests that most of the 2024 gastrointestinal outbreaks at sea were associated with the highly contagious norovirus.
In December last year alone, five cruise ships recorded the vomiting virus, with hundreds of passengers reporting symptoms on Cunard Line, Holland America and Princess Cruises ships.
When an outbreak appears in CDC data, it means that 3% or more of passengers and crew on vessels have presented gastrointestinal symptoms to medical staff.
Norovirus has long been linked to cruise ships because it spreads in environments where people are in close proximity.
Infectious disease expert Dr. William Schaffner, a professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, notes that norovirus is “known as the cruise ship virus.”
It is notoriously contagious, and therefore people who are indoors on a ship may be more likely to spread the disease. The CDC also notes the spread of the virus among travelers in other confined spaces, such as campgrounds, dormitories and hotels.
“This is a virus that can infect you with very few viral particles. In other words, the infectious dose is very small,” Schaffner explained to CNN .
“It can persist for days or up to a week on environmental surfaces, which means if you put your fingers on a contaminated surface, you could pick up some viral particles, touch your mouth, and then start an infection.”
Norovirus tends to peak during the winter months, and “this seasonal occurrence of norovirus varies in intensity,” explains Schaffner.
“More serious” occurrence than average
This season’s occurrence is “more severe” than average — and in fact, both on land and at sea, according to Schaffner, who adds that this could explain the December 2024 CDC data.
“Incidents of illness on board cruise ships are extremely rare,” industry organization Cruise Lines International Association said in a statement.
The CDC also notes that “outbreaks are found and reported more quickly on a cruise ship than on land,” thanks to reporting protocols. On average, about 19 to 21 million cases of norovirus disease occur in the U.S. each year, according to the CDC.
Although norovirus dominates 2024 CDC data, a September 2024 gastrointestinal outbreak on Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas was attributed to salmonella food poisoning.
Meanwhile, Silversea Cruises’ outbreak on Silver Nova in the spring was the result of E. coli and the cause of the gastrointestinal illness on Royal Caribbean’s May sailing of Allure of the Seas remains unknown.
The CDC reported a total of 16 gastrointestinal outbreaks on cruise ships in 2024, the largest in more than a decade. As of 2023, there have been a total of 14 reported outbreaks.
But, speaking to CNN a CDC spokesperson said that “although 2023 and 2024 have seen higher numbers of outbreaks on cruise ships than in the years before the pandemic, we do not yet know whether this represents a new trend.”
There were fewer reports in the 2020-2022 period, during which the cruise industry shut down — and then slowly restarted — in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. In 2019, there were 10 reported outbreaks, according to CDC data.
“Cruise ship travel during the Covid-19 pandemic was limited, and prior to that, we saw rates of gastrointestinal illness on cruise ships decline (during 2006-2019),” says the CDC spokesperson.
The CDC data only covers ships under the agency’s jurisdiction — meaning the ship’s voyage must include a U.S. port, a foreign itinerary and carry more than 13 passengers. While this criteria counts for much of the world’s cruise ship fleet, it does not cover all vessels that cross the world’s oceans.
This content was originally published in Cruises have the highest number of stomach infections in a decade on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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