Norovirus-like illness hits Holland America's Ryndam

[mercedes]

Nearly 10% of the passengers on Holland America's Ryndam this week have come down with a nasty stomach bug believed to be norovirus.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report shows that at least 105 passengers on the ship have suffered from the norovirus-like gastrointestinal illness -- out of 1,226 on board.

The Ryndam returned to San Diego this morning as scheduled after a 10-day cruise to Mexico. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that an 81-year-old woman suffering from dehydration caused by the illness was taken to a hospital by ambulance after disembarking.

Norovirus is a common, easily-spread stomach bug that causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Most people recover from it within a few days.

As on other cruise ships that have had breakouts, Holland America quarantined ill passengers to their cabins this week while they were sick. The Union-Tribune says the line offered quarantined passengers $100 in compensation for the inconvenience.

The Centers for Disease Control says this is the sixth gastro-intestinal illness outbreak on a cruise ship this year. But in only one other outbreak, on the Norwegian Star in January, did as high a percentage of passengers fall ill. In that case, 228 of 2,427 passengers came down with what researchers determined to be norovirus -- about 9.4%.

There were 21 outbreaks of gastro-intestinal illness of cruise ships in 2007, according to the CDC.

[RNSANE]

I didn't see you had posted this...sorry...the Ryndam seems to have been beset with bad luck - four times since early last year. Might scare away passengers, though it's a passenger, surely, that brought it on board.